Angel's Punishment
by Umi-chan3
Summary: Clef's duty to Cephiro has forced him to leave a shattered Umi, who, devastated, heads back to Tokyo to resume a life that dissipates around her. Made to cope with horrible circumstances, Umi seeks shelter in the arms of the enemy, can Clef save her? UC
1. Swamped

Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me except the concept and Gage, he, unfortunately, belongs to me. All the lyrics are copyright Lacuna Coil (look them up, they're a great band for anyone who likes Evanescence, and they're basically unknown), and all the characters of course are owned by the great and wonderful CLAMP. All right, onto the author's note...

So here it is, chapter one of fourteen, another song fic, hope that everyone likes this one as much as they did "Rubies and Gold". For those of you who haven't read it, there's a prequel to this, called "Rush", I would recommend reading it, though you don't have to to understand what's going on, I wrote "Rush" after I'd written about ten chapters of this. This story is almost completely finished, so there shouldn't be any delays in updating at all, and if there are, I apologize completely for them now. I also apologize in advance for the amount of angst in this one, this is actually an original story that I wrote that I adapted and tweeked for Rayearth; I hope it doesn't upset anyone too too much! Hang in with me, there will be some very good romance in the later chapters, I'm just getting to writing them now, and I'm making sure to make it perfect. Other than that, I know you guys all are responsible readers by now so I don't have to remind you. I hope you like it! Love you all lots!

Umi-chan

Chapter One – Swamped

"I need a drink," Umi muttered miserably, tearing open her freezer door to remove the vodka bottle inside. With trembling fingers, she unscrewed the top and put the cold rim to her lips. _Quick,_ her mind urged, _before they come back._ Obediently, she tossed the liquid fire down her throat, wincing from the burn, yet savoring its effect. Ah, to drown out the feelings.

Slowly, the numbness began to take hold, so she could think logically about things for a few moments before she wasn't able to think about things at all. _See, that's my problem, _she told herself, _I haven't been looking at this whole thing logically. I've only been looking at it from the emotional standpoint. Logically, I can dismiss these dreams entirely; it's just my subconscious sneaking up on me like it likes to do._

By the time the half bottle of vodka she'd consumed really started kicking in, she'd reasoned everything out, so it all fit together into a nicely discarded pile. There was no sense in taking dreams seriously, because she'd learned that dreams never do come true.

_**When you're taught through feelings**_

"Nothing," Clef sighed and slumped into his chair, defeated and exhausted.

"But Guru, if she continues on this path of self-destruction, everything she created in Cephiro will change!" Fuu was almost in hysterics, tears brimming in her big green eyes that were no longer troubled by the burden of glasses.

Clef barely held back a glare, "I know! But she hasn't responded to the dreams; she has herself convinced they mean nothing. Perhaps it is time you returned to Earth and fetched her."

Fuu nodded and bowed, "We will leave straight away," she told him, spinning and storming out. The current situation seemed to have everyone in a foul temper, and the deeper she'd touched someone, the deeper the darkness ran. In Fuu it showed itself as anger, in Hikaru, depression, and in himself…_nervousness, sullenness, impatience. _He sighed and looked back to his scrying crystal to watch her stare blankly at the wall in a state of almost complete comatose, pausing in her strange vigil only to take another gulp of poison.

Molten anger ripped through his veins, why would she do this to them, to herself? Why didn't she care? _And more importantly, _he thought grimly, all the anger washed out of him, _why won't she let me fix it?_

_**Destiny, flying high above**_

Fuu looked once more at the address on the faded, grimy piece of paper in her hands, "Well," she shook her head, "I guess…"

"This can't be right," Hikaru gazed at the dilapidated building in front of them, amazed. Not only was it on the wrong side of town, but it seemed to be riddled with drug addicts and prostitutes. Not exactly the place you'd expect to find a high-class, beautiful journalism student.

"Let's at least go and check," Fuu nudged Hikaru forward, and she took one hesitant step and then waited, as if she was expecting to get shot. When she guessed she wasn't, she took another bold step, one slowly after the other until she made it to the front door and managed to step inside.

"Whaddya want?" a large, balding man with grease stains on his shirt looked up from his post at the front door, and Hikaru jumped back when a cruel smile slipped onto his face. "I mean…what can I get for you ladies?"

"We're l-looking for Um-Umi Ryu-Ryuuzaki," Hikaru stumbled, and his face fell.

"No one of that name in this place," he gestured rudely to the half crumbled steps that led to the upper level of the apartment complex. A cacophony of screams and cries filled their ears, and Hikaru was happy enough to give up and begin the search again, but Fuu knew more than her friend, and her eyes narrowed, and she persisted.

"Are you sure? She's a friend of ours, and I'm sure she's here."

The man gave her a level look, sizing up the designer jeans and light green cashmere sweater she wore, "I doubt anyone you know would live here," he told her frankly, and her temper which was always slow to rise, showed itself.

"She has to be here!"

"Come on Fuu-chan," Hikaru urged, shying away from the man who was getting more and more annoyed by the moment. "Umi-chan wouldn't stay in a place like this…"

Fuu just tossed Hikaru off her and advanced on the man, "She's real pretty, long blue hair and big, dark blue eyes. She's a journalism student."

Realization entered the man's eyes, and he nodded, "Ah, that one. Aye, she lives here, but she ain't no journalism student," a rough laugh escaped his throat. "Up in 216, but I'll expect she'll have company this time of night. Damn well better, if I don't get my rent soon I'll be up there pounding on her door myself. Well," he shrugged and let the comment lie, "maybe that'd be worth it."

Fuu's veins filled with ice, so there were things that Clef hadn't told her. What else was there? "Thank you," she answered crisply, giving him a sharp, threatening glance which made him laugh and point to the steps. She didn't wait around for another smart comment, just turned to face the steps and stomped up them, Hikaru following her quietly, wondering silently if the steps would support even their fragile weights.

"Umi!" Fuu shouted from the wrong side of a locked door.

Hikaru heard noise from inside, and a chain slipping out of place. The door opened just a crack, and a large blue eye peered out at them.

"'orry, no female…" she stopped and opened it a little wider. "Fuu? Hikaru?"

Fuu and Hikaru both broke out into smiles, Fuu's relieved, Hikaru's timid.

"Umi-chan," she greeted warmly, and Umi threw the door open and grinned at them.

"Wh-are ya-doin' here?" she slurred, and the smiles immediately fell off their faces.

"We're here to talk," Fuu told her pertly, and Umi opened the door.

"Welcome in," she giggled at her confusion of words and allowed them entrance into the small, ratty apartment.

Fuu's critical eye scanned it in disgust. The paint was chipping off the walls, and there were definite signs of rodent and insect infestation. The room they entered was a small living room, on the far right was a kitchen that Fuu wasn't even sure Hikaru would be able to fit into, and to the left was another room, presumably a bedroom. Fuu wanted to spit in anger. Why would she live in a place like this? What had happened that she'd fallen so low? Then the anger paled, and she was just left in a numb state of shock. _Something horrible_, was all she could think as she turned her eyes back to her friend. _And we've just been taking cues from Clef this whole time. She's probably wondering why we haven't done anything; she probably thinks we're the worst friends in the world!_

"Oh Umi-chan," Hikaru gasped. "What are you doing here?" She voiced the words Fuu couldn't find, and Umi looked at her curiously.

"Whaddya mean? This is nice enough for the likes of me," she slipped onto a half destroyed couch that sunk almost to the floor when she landed on it. The only other piece of furniture in the room beside the couch was a small box that Fuu guessed she was using as a table.

"Umi, you're coming back with us," Fuu told her frankly, turning to face her, towering over her, her hands on her hips. She had her stern, '_I won't take no for an answer,_' expression on, but Umi just looked at her blankly, took another swig of vodka and shook her head.

"Nope," she answered, popping the 'P' and smiling gleefully. "No way in hell."

"Why not?" Hikaru demanded desperately, pointing to the bare walls. "There's nothing for you here! We want you at home; Cephiro is falling apart without you!"

Umi pulled herself off the couch to look Hikaru in the eyes, "_I will not._"

"Don't be ridiculous," Fuu stopped Hikaru's next onslaught of begging. "You will, and you're in no state to stop us," she reached forward to grab Umi's arm, but Umi screamed and pulled back, throwing the bottle onto the floor so it shattered, leaving glass and alcohol all over the dirty green carpet that had to be left from the seventies.

"Don't touch me! I'm not leaving!"

"Why would you want to stay?" Fuu refused to leave her friend in any state like this, especially not with Cephiro falling into the same condition of decay.

"Why wouldn't I wanna go _back_, would be, a better question," Umi flopped back onto the couch, her long hair falling over the side, but it was greasy. When was the last time she'd washed it? That in itself was enough to tell Fuu something was terribly wrong. Umi _never_ let her hair get dirty, not even through the worst battles. When the fighting was over, even if she was too exhausted to stand, she would find her way to a bathtub to scrub the dirt and blood out of her luxurious blue hair. There was something most definitely wrong. If Fuu had doubted it before, she had no questions now.

Hikaru's eyes knotted in pain, and she held her hands out to her old friend, wanting nothing more than to pull her into her arms and hug all the pain away. Clearly, Umi was in some kind of serious pain, but Hikaru also knew that there was nothing she could do to bring her out of it. She'd seen anguish like this in people she knew, and she'd seen people die of it. It scared her to no end, "Umi-chan, please," she pleaded gently. "Whatever it is, I promise you we'll take care of it."

Umi shook her head, pulling herself up to a sitting position, "No, you can't, not this," she laughed to herself. "Just get out."

"What?" Hikaru whispered, tears brimming in her eyes, threatening to spill over.

"Get out!" Umi shrieked, slamming her finger toward the door. "I never asked for anyone to save me!"

"Umi, this isn't about you!" Fuu shouted at her, and Umi backed down. "Clef asked us to come and get you; Cephiro is falling apart because you're destroying yourself. We can't think only of ourselves anymore; we're not children. You're attached to that world, and without you, it's suffering. Don't you care?"

Umi smirked and shook her head, "Bastard," she whispered to herself, and Fuu's eyes narrowed, while Hikaru's widened. "Didn't think it could be…" she mumbled to herself, then, in a moment of coherent speech, "Sorry, I get angry when I'm drunk Come back in the morning, and we'll talk."

Hikaru was about to agree, but Fuu shook her head.

"No."

"I have an appointment now," Umi sounded weary and exasperated. Talking like this made her think too much, and she was in no state to be thinking. Her head was spinning angrily; all she wanted to do was go to bed.

Fuu didn't want to begin to think what that meant, "We're not leaving."

"Oh good, then you can watch," Umi answered wryly, and Fuu shuddered. "You know, actually, just don't come back. If there's anything; you want to know about why I won't return maybe you should ask your precious Master Mage; he was the one who 'xpelled me in the first place!"

"What?" both Fuu and Hikaru's minds reeled at that.

"Yeah," Umi whispered bitterly. "Yeah, how bout that?"

"Umi-chan, that's not possible. He wouldn't have done that…" Hikaru started, but Umi glared bitterly.

"Funny, he did," she answered. "Goodbye Hikaru, Fuu, I hope you have a lovely life in Cephiro," and her tone told them she was through with them. Hikaru tried gently to get her to speak again, but she just sat on the couch and stared at the wall, not even nursing a small cut that the broken bottle had caused in her hand and was just beginning to bleed.

"Come on Hikaru-san," Fuu urged gently, taking Hikaru's shoulders and showing her the door. As they left, a scraggly looking man with thick rimmed glasses was walking up the steps, smiling slightly to himself. They watched only for a moment to see him waltz into Umi's apartment and hear her laugh before they walked down the steps, closed their eyes and Willed themselves back to Cephiro with broken hearts.

_**All I know is that you can realize it**_

_Could that be true, about Cephiro falling apart without me?_ Umi thought to herself as she lie awake, the man she'd just worn out snoring next to her. _Don't think about it._ She agreed, and rose to get a bottle, but remembered she'd broken her last and consented to get a glass of coffee instead.

She walked to her small kitchen and pulled a can of instant coffee down, cracking it open and dumping a scoop into a small cup, and then, on second thought, added another. _I'll probably need it,_ she told herself grimly, and shoved the half prepared dish in her faulty microwave, setting it for two minutes. _Our microwave at home could have done it in a quarter the time, in Cephiro, it would've been instant._

_Cephiro…_ she sighed to herself and shook it out of her. They didn't want her there; she wasn't a Magic Knight anymore. She'd given up on them when he'd given up on her.

_**Destiny who cares?**_

"Clef," Fuu's voice was brimming with pent up anger and disgust as he turned to look into the raging eyes of not only the Wind Knight, but the Fire Knight as well. Both seemed ready to spring if they needed to.

"We have some questions," Hikaru bit off every word as if they tasted vile in her mouth. Clef looked at them curiously and summoned them chairs.

"Sit."

_**As it turns around**_

"Umi told us _you_ were the one who made her leave Cephiro," Fuu started bluntly, and Clef's mouth almost flew open.

"What?" he mumbled; and Hikaru seemed to lighten a little at his instinctive reply. Fuu was a little less lenient, but her eyes softened just a tad.

"She said if we had questions as to why she wouldn't want to come back, we should ask you," Hikaru explained softly. "She said you expelled her."

Clef's heart swelled with anger, "Never!" he hissed. "I knew when she left that Cephiro would hurt because of it; I would never make her leave, but that was her choice! I…" he stopped himself, knowing that yelling wouldn't prove his point, or his innocence.

"So you don't know what she's talking about?" Fuu asked sharply, and he shook his head and held out his hands.

"Very well, thank you Guru," Hikaru stood and bowed, ushering Fuu out this time. Fuu glanced back at him one last time, before she disappeared around the door.

He sighed heavily and stood, moving toward the window to gaze at the land he loved. _So, _he thought inwardly, _my rejection must have made her run. I…_he faltered. He had thought when the Water Knight professed something a little deeper than friendship toward him, and he told her that it could never be, that she would be hurt. _But this…and damn it, it wasn't because I didn't feel the same! _Even then, his heart ached for her. She had probably touched him deeper than any of the people in Cephiro, but it just couldn't be! He was a Master Mage; his heart was chained to the land and its people. She wasn't even _from_ Cephiro! _So I did all this…_he looked to the sea that was churning in anger; and the gray storm clouds that were threatening to burst over the country at any minute. _Hard to believe, with a heart so strong she could…_he refused to look at the image in the crystal. He'd watched it too many times, and it never got easier. Each time felt as if a piece of his soul was being ripped away and trampled on. No, there was no easy road for her, and thus, there was no easy road for him. _Why did I push her away? _The question resounded within him. As much as he tried to remind himself of his duties, his people, his past, the question would rip through his mind like a stampede of wild horses. _Why did I push away the best thing in my life?_

_**And I know that it descends down on me**_

"Hey beautiful, I've got a new assignment for you," the man leaned against her doorframe casually, smiling a charming smile that lit up his narrow face. "You gonna let me in or what?"

Umi sighed and nodded, moving from the doorway, so he could enter. So many times she'd tried to tell him no. She'd struggled to get out of it; anything was better than this. But she didn't have anywhere to go, and she knew that he'd kill her if she ran. There was no way but to stay on his good side and try to make what she could of her shattered life.

_**It's just another day**_

"Well, there's this new client, you see," he approached her, running his rough hands over her neck and down her shoulders, stroking her hair, and she wanted to back away and cower, but all she did was sit there and curse her inability to do _anything_. The Umi that was the Knight of Water, a protector of Cephiro, would never have succumbed to this. _Well, that girl is dead, there is only Ryuu now._ "And I wanna make sure he gets the best treatment, you see? He's a real big shot somewhere in the city, got the cash to show it. But he doesn't want just anyone; he says he wants a fighter. So I says to him, I got this girl, Ryuu, and she's a real fighter. He liked the sound of it sweetheart, so you gotta make sure you don't prove me wrong."

"I won't, Kanaye," she promised softly, and he grinned and bit her neck.

"Good, I knew you wouldn't, he'll be here shortly," and without another word, he removed his hands from her neck and strolled out the door, whistling softly to himself.

_**It's just another day**_

Umi pushed her hair into a high ponytail, teasing it gently and used makeup to cover bruises and other marks of her trade. She hid the bags under her eyes with a heavy layer of eye makeup that made her look a little older as well and shook her head in the mirror, preparing herself for the newest "client". _What happened to you? _The image in the mirror with the hollow eyes asked of her, but she just shook her head at in and turned to get the knock at the door.

_She died, a long time ago._

_**The shame is gone**_

_**Hard to believe**_

_**That I've let it go**_

The man in her door was powerfully built with hidden, angry eyes. Umi was afraid of him, but she didn't let it show. She was afraid of what he was about to do to her body, but she didn't let him know it. He wanted a fighter, not a flower, and she was about to become just that. Little did he know, but that could sometimes be a dangerous request.

"How do you want to do this?" she demanded, and he grabbed her neck and tossed her against the wall, slamming the door behind him. She tried a weak grin that only encouraged him as he flung her to the ground and raked his nails across her body, ripping clothes and skin alike. She smacked him hard across the face, and he pushed her down, she was drowning.

_No,_ she whispered, feeling herself fall into memory. _No, not now, I need to defend myself now,_ so she pushed back the images of her falling into the lake where her escudo was born and made herself concentrate on fighting the man off her. Suddenly, it wasn't about his pleasure or money, it was about surviving the next battle.

_**Destiny can't replace my life**_

_**Scary shadows of my past**_

_**Are alive**_

He wrenched himself away from her and grinned cruelly, panting heavily, "Damn," he whispered, watching her with a newfound respect for the creature he'd considered fragile. "Here," he scattered a few bills around her feet and laughed when she scrambled to collect them, pulling them close to her like a broken animal. "I'll be back."

She nodded gravely and stayed crumpled on the floor until he left. When she was sure he was gone, she curled her arms around her knees and began to rock, sobbing, clutching the money in her sweating palms. _Why couldn't he love me? _She demanded of herself, _why can't anyone just love me?_

_**Destiny who cares?**_

"The Knights didn't return with Umi, should you summon her?" Ascot asked carefully, not wanting to spark the Guru's anger that was even quicker to boil as of late.

Clef looked at the Palu with hollowed eyes, "If only I could."

_**As it turns around**_

"You're the most powerful Mage in Cephiro," Ascot stated flatly. "You _have_ to be able to summon her."

_**And I know that it descends**_

"That was a gift given to the Pillar, not I," Clef told him gently, trying a weak smile. "Everything will work out in good time."

"But will it be too late for the rest of us?" Ascot seemed to be speaking to himself, so Clef didn't chase the issue. The same question resounded in his mind.

_**With a smile**_

"Well done," Kanaye slapped a wad of bills into Umi's outstretched palm, and she thanked him softly. "For being so quiet I find it hard to believe you're a fighter," he told her frankly. "I keep saying I'm going to test the merchandise and…" he let the threat hang, and Umi tried not to gulp. She knew how Kanaye was with the others, and she didn't want to be on the receiving end of that treatment. He laughed when he saw the fear enter her eyes and patted her on the head like a favorite dog. "No, no lovey, I have enough women to please me. I like to keep you special."

_**It's just another day**_

Umi kissed the hand that had just been petting her so lovingly, and he grinned and returned the kiss, pushing her into the couch. Only when his hand rose to her neck did he stop himself, pulling back and sighing heavily, "Well, I'm off to go find someone who I can have."

Umi nodded eagerly, _yes, yes_, she begged, _anyone but me, please, anyone but me…_ Funny, years ago she would have been concerned for others, now she just took in strides, like everything else. She had too much wrong in her own life to be worried about someone else's.

_**The shame is gone**_

Clef watched the man leave her room and spun his gathering magic around the room recklessly, wanting to see something destroyed. It was only when a crystal mirror on a nearby wall shattered into a thousand pieces that he was able to stop himself. Who was this man to so neatly threaten and abuse her? Who _were_ these people that Umi kept letting into her life? He didn't understand it! What was going on here? What was the stuff that they threw at her when they were finished with her? And why would she let them in when there was such terror in her eyes? He wanted to kill them all, but there was something especially dangerous about the one she called Kanaye. There was a black aura that fell all around him; it was almost three feet thick. He was a rare and untapped evil power, and Clef was almost positive it was that power that was exerting itself on Umi and causing Cephiro to crumble. What he wanted to know was, did that creature live on earth, and why was it after Umi?

_**It's hard to believe**_

_If I'd never let her go, if I'd only told her how I really felt instead of rebuking her like a child. I nearly laughed at her! But it wasn't her; it was to escape from my own pain. It wasn't…_But he couldn't justify what he'd done to her, and they were both suffering because of it now. All the light in their lives had vanished, and he could only begin to imagine how much worse it was bound to get.

_**That I've let it go away**_

_The warm water lapped at her legs playfully, and she grinned and dove into the sea, giggling helplessly when the waves crashed gently onto her exposed back, "Come on, Fuu, Hikaru!" she shouted to them, and they laughed and joined her, splashing freely in the safety of Cephiro's water. _

_All her friends were around her, Ascot, Primera, Presea, Caldina, Lafarga, Ferio, Eagle, Zazu, Geo, the two Princess' Tatra and Tarta, and Sanyun and Ascot. Life was absolutely perfect._

_**It's just a melody**_

"_Where's Clef?" she asked curiously, half aware she was dreaming, but still feeling the question needed an answer._

"_Don't you remember Umi?" Presea's cold voice struck her like an arrow. "He died a few years ago."_

"_Died?" Umi's face paled, and she slipped into the now cold water. There was no Will in her anywhere. If Clef was dead there was no hope for love, and there was no hope for life. She slipped into the darkness, thinking she would at least be at peace._

**_It bleeds in me_**

She jumped awake and shook off the nightmare, cursing them angrily, hands itching for a drink to scare them away, but there was nothing in her house at the moment. She sighed heavily and decided that a walk might do her good. _Yeah, right, Umi, good idea, in this neighbor at two o'clock_ _in the morning? _Her gloom took her over, and she curled back into the scant covers on her bed, smelling the musty smell of sheets that hadn't been washed in many months, sweat mingling with blood mingling with something much fouler. The thought made her want to throw up, but she knew that would just add to the bile collected on the sheets and forced it in. _It's time to grow up Umi and accept what you have, not focus on what you don't,_ her mind scolded her, and she nodded. All she had to do was tell herself that one more time and she'd have it, just one more time she'd teach herself that lesson, she promised her mind. _One more time, and I'll give him up and accept it. Just one more time._

_**Hard to believe**_

_**That I've let it go…**_


	2. SelfDeception

Hey everyone! Here's chapter two! I hope you enjoy, oh, and someone asked if Clef was in his taller form...yes...I wouldn't have him any other way! Maybe someday I'll write a story where he's short, but then...maybe not. Anyway, someone else asked what happened to all of Umi's money, and this is going to be explained in this chapter, don't think I'd leave that out! Make sure to be kind and read and review, even flames are accepted! Arigato!

Chapter Two – Self-Deception

Umi woke from her tormented sleep with a feeling of cold resignation. Her dreams had been troubling, but there was a strange sense of finality to them. Something inside had clicked, and she'd taken the first steps toward recovery. She didn't _need_ to be loved; all she needed was to survive, and she certainly didn't need him. That revelation came in different phases. First, there was anguish, that she might have to live without him, letting the hope die burned in so many ways, but then, then there was relief. At least she wouldn't feel as if she was betraying him every day of her life. Maybe this morning she would be able to get out of bed with a little more hope in her heart.

She threw her legs over the side of her single bed and headed to the kitchen where she poured herself a bit of cereal and ate standing up, staring out the small window at the neighborhood. It looked so much different in the daylight. Even a few kids were outside, attempting normal lives, drawing hopscotch on the ground with their mothers watching closely nearby. She smiled to herself; it wasn't _so_ bad. At least in the day she could feel normal, she could feel as if she _belonged_ inside her skin. It was only the night…_Well, I'm not going to think about that,_ she promised herself. _I'm going to go shopping. I deserve it._

_**I'll never waste another day**_

She dropped off her rent, trying to avoid the hopeful glances of her landlord, not wanting to let anything get her down today. Today was a new day, and she had new hope. If she couldn't return to Cephiro, at least she could start to straighten out her life on earth. She'd make a little more money, then start searching for a real job. When she had enough, she'd run, somewhere where Kanaye would never find her. And then she'd settle down maybe, and she'd be happy. That thought made a smile form on her lips. She didn't need to have a destiny; she didn't need to be the savior of another realm. All she needed to be was herself, and it seemed she was getting even closer to figuring that out.

_There was a time when you knew yourself,_ something dark inside her mind whispered, and she shut the voice out. _There was a time when everything I knew about myself was a lie,_ she responded to the voice. _And that time has long since passed.

* * *

_

"Guru! Great monsters are rising out of the seas! We can't stop them!" this was the sixth fisherman who'd told him of the monsters today, and he was weary with suppressing them. "Send the Knights! Send the Water Knight! She'll surely be able to stop them!"

Clef winced inwardly, but tried to keep his mask of calm, showing his own weakness to the people wouldn't do any of them any good, "The Knights have tried. We're working day and night to solve the problem. Please, return to your village and see that everyone evacuates. Come here if you must, just stay away from the sea."

"The sea is our livelihood! What will we do without it?" the man's eyes filled with fear, and Clef didn't have an answer. The sea was vital to them all; he couldn't imagine what would become of Cephiro if those waters began to raise more than they had already. _Umi…why don't you respond? _"Surely there is a reason! Perhaps the Will is angry with us?"

"No," Clef's hollow voice sounded much stronger than he felt. The last thing he needed was for people to begin to doubt themselves. "No, there is another reason, don't fret. We will solve the problem, just do as I say, and do not worry."

_Do not worry,_ he laughed at himself, _it's all your fault you know. You should never have…_he slammed the door shut to that voice. Whether it was his fault or not, feeling sorry for himself wouldn't solve the problem. All he had to do was fix it; he was the Master Mage, but…_can you mend a broken heart? Especially when you're the one who broke it?_

_**Searching to find the reason**_

"New outfit?" Kanaye toyed with her hair innocently. They were sitting on the couch, and Kanaye had yet to reveal why he'd come. As far as Umi could tell it wasn't a social call – it never was with him.

"Yeah, like it?" Umi asked tentatively, and he nodded just as vaguely.

"Ryuu, I've heard some…disturbing rumors," his grip on her hair tightened, and she immediately regretted applying to that store in the mall.

"Oh?" she choked. "About what?"

"You," he answered casually and began to pet her hair again. "I heard you were trying to get out of the business."

"Get out?" she laughed nervously, willing herself to stay calm. "Why would I get out? Don't be silly."

"Well, then, my sources must have been wrong about you applying for a job in one of the local malls then," he said it as if he knew that she was indeed lying, and she decided to cover up the lie with a half truth.

"Oh I did," she answered, trying to make herself sound flippant. "I need some extra cash sometimes, you know, to cover food and clothes and stuff. I figured I could get a day job and work nights just like normal. Nothing major."

"Baby, I don't want you stressing yourself out. If you ever need any extra money don't hesitate to see me; you know I'll always take care of you. It hurts my feelings that you don't trust me Ryuu, it really does."

Umi shook her head and forced herself to look into his dangerous eyes. Both of them stopped moving, "I trust you," she said finally, and he smiled cruelly and nodded.

"Good."

_**Why did I choose to play this game?**_

Clef felt a piece of him die when he heard the words. He wasn't even scrying; he was reading in the library, and he felt the words like ice down his spine. _I trust you._ He immediately threw his hand open and turned the windowpane into a temporary scrying crystal. There _he_ was, and there she was, trembling in fear, him smiling sickly. Kanaye.

_**This goes too far**_

At that minute Clef had decided he would stop at nothing to find her and bring her home, where she belonged. There was something obscenely dangerous in that man's eyes; and he didn't like them so focused on Umi, like she was the only thing that mattered to him. For that matter, why _did_ he focus on her, more than any of the others? Clef had done his research, and this man spent more time looking in on Umi than any of his other multiple girls. He knew that Kanaye was connected to the men that came to Umi's apartment and hurt her, but he didn't know how, and he was afraid to show Fuu or Hikaru what had been happening to her. He was afraid their rage would affect Cephiro the way Umi's depression was. Everything was so unstable since the Pillar had vanished, the people's Wills were strong, but they needed support, and even when one of the links was weak there was chaos, he didn't want to imagine three.

_**I'll take no more**_

The library became his new domain as he searched for endless hours for a spell that would take him to Earth, even for a few hours to save Umi, to tell her it wasn't her fault, and to bring her home. He knew it was his fault, and he didn't care about telling her so long as it wasn't too late. So long as nothing happened to her in the meantime. He kept a constant vigil on her while sorting through book after book of magic. No one entered the library for days, not even Fuu; no one dared. When the Master Mage had a goal in mind, he would stop at nothing to see it through, and saving the Water Knight's life would be no small task.

_Umi's life,_ he had to remind himself. He'd spent so long trying to detach himself from her, trying to push her away, he had to tell himself in gentle ways that she was more than a Knight, more than a link in the chain, she was the essence of his being. He knew it, innately knew it, but it was going to take time for his heart to convince his mind of it. He'd been the evil, all-knowing, distant Mage when he pushed her out of his heart; it would take something quite the opposite to bring her back in.

_**I played the part and took the blame**_

She closed her eyes and pretended it wasn't happening, pretended the man beside her was her one true love, but even those thoughts led her in the wrong direction. _You've forgotten him, remember? Right, right,_ she assured herself and turned back to the heavyset man who was complaining about the stresses of his job and how he was lonely for a companion. Umi empathized, but she wasn't about to start complaining about the stresses of _her_ job. Just that thought made her smile softly, _and at least this night is an easy shift – this man needs a therapist, not a girl._

"See, it's not as if I do this sort of thing often, well…I never do, but Kanaye said he had…" she wasn't really listening, just letting him talk it out. Her mind had wandered back to the strange visit from Fuu and Hikaru the day before, which she only half remembered. Something about Cephiro crumbling? But no, that couldn't be right, not with them there to protect it. She must have misunderstood them.

_**While you pretend nothing is real**_

That night, two powers warred for control of Umi's mind.

"_Umi, come home to us," Clef whispered and tossed his hand open to her, letting her see the true Cephiro, the monsters on the waterfront, the helpless faces of the children who were forced to leave scattered toys in their wake._

"_What?" Umi muttered, unbelieving._

"_We need you," Clef took two steps forward._

"_No," she shied back, and his eyes looked hurt. "This can't be! You're lying to me!"_

"_Why would I lie?" he asked calmly, trying not to succumb to his anger. This was the first time in weeks she'd allowed him to touch her dreams himself, and he knew he would only push her away with anger._

Because he needs the Knights for his own credibility, _something pushed at her mind, but she shook it off._

"_B-because you need me back for something," she stumbled, and his brows creased in anger._

"_Yes, I need you back to help you; don't you see what your sadism is doing to your friends, all of Cephiro? I know you don't want to live like that!"_

He doesn't need you; he needs to control you, _that_ _something hissed. _Think of what he did to you; you can't go back.

_Umi nodded, "I won't," she told him flatly. "There's nothing waiting for me there. Goodbye, Guru," she put a mental barrier in place, and the voice chuckled in triumph._

_**Life turned to night as you're asleep**_

_She stumbled along a path created of broken children's toys – dolls and figurines, but when she looked again, the dolls weren't children's toys; they were children. _

_A hand flew to her mouth to keep her stomach in as she flew down the path. At the end, stood the Master Mage of Cephiro, and she threw herself at his feet, clinging to the hem of his new robes. She looked up at him with pleading eyes and begged for salvation, "Make it stop!"_

"_Look what I did to get you to come here," he didn't even look at her, just surveyed the damage calmly – _his _damage._

_She pulled back, the putrid taste of bile rising in her mouth, "You? But why? Clef, they're only children!"_

"_Sometimes sacrifices must be made in the name of Cephiro," he answered in the same frightening monotone. She was going to run, or maybe fight, but something stopped her, a glint of silver, and then…numbness as the dagger plunged deep into her heart. Betrayal cut through her sharper than any knife. When had it come to this?_

_Then, and only then, did he turn his eyes down to where she kneeled, hollow, merciless eyes without any hint of guilt, "Clef?" she tore the name from her throat, the inevitable pain setting in._

"_Umi, my love, there's only one way to free myself and Cephiro of your taint. I thought you knew that," he laughed, yet a tear slipped down his cheek as easily as the blood oozed down her chest._

_**Blood flowing down, is this a dream?**_

Do you want this to happen? This is what returning means! _Umi shut her heart to the voice as she jumped awake._

"No," she whispered as if to defy it and Clef all at once, "He doesn't love me, but he doesn't hate me either, and he would never harm anyone of Cephiro."

_**Liar, you tempt me**_

"Damn it," Clef whispered, head clutched between his knees, finally breaking down. The darkness was near; she was fighting it, but he knew it wouldn't be long until it tamed her, and his rejection only brought it closer, sooner. Something slipped into his own mind in his weakness, _you could kill her_. He searched for the magic he knew was there but found it was nowhere in Cephiro.

_So, the battle begins on earth,_ he thought grimly. _But what is _my _place in all this?_

_**I don't know what to do**_

_What made me dream that? _She wiped the sweat from her forehead and stumbled to her tiny bathroom. She barely even flinched at the hollow eyes and sunken cheeks anymore. What was the point? She was what she was, why live her life in regret?

_**No guilt is in my heart**_

Clef's hands fell across the book, hardly believing, "It does exist," his words were both comforting and chilling. All this time, he'd been searching for a spell to get him to Earth, and here it was. He could go, but would she simply push him away like the others? His stomach knotted. And if he had it, who was to say someone else didn't? That thought was even more terrifying. _I can only imagine what some overzealous fool would do with this, not to mention one leaning toward evil. He'd probably think he could get to one of the Knights even in her hom…_It hit him. _Umi._

_**I don't know what to do**_

_God, how long have I been here? _Umi pulled herself out of bed and looked at her bedside clock – it was almost three in the afternoon. _It's not like I have a hot date or anything, _she thought miserably. No, no more dates, not since Clef, and how long had that been? _Well, I was really just a kid then, seventeen when we first kissed, eighteen when he said he didn't love me. And going on twenty-one now. Has it really been three years? _She sighed and tried to think of it apathetically. She'd never loved anyone more than she'd loved Clef, and she'd thought he felt the same…Thought. _It's in the past, don't waste what you have,_ her mind chided, but for some reason she just couldn't move on. _I suppose there was too much left unsaid, there was just no closure. One minute we were totally happy and the next…_She found herself running from Cephiro, not even knowing why he'd pushed her away. There was only one thing that was rock solid – there she was, and now - _here I am._

_**I'm not the reason**_

_**I'll never waste another day**_

_**Forever lost, no reason**_

And here she was. Of course, that wasn't a situation she found herself in naturally. Even when she fled, she had a good life; she decided to go to school for journalism, and she'd been doing fairly well, until her father stopped paying her tuition.

"_What do you mean we can't afford it?" Umi threw a graceful hand around her, pointing to the luxury that surrounded them. "Of course we can afford it!" Umi had once heard a statistic that said, on average, a child heard 4,000 yes' in their childhood and 20,000 no's, but she knew for a fact that of those 20,000 no's "we can't afford it" had never been an explanation._

"_Umi," her father took hold of her shoulders firmly and looked at her as if he was desperate for sympathy or even pity – something her father had never cherished. "A few months ago the company's stock shattered, so I pulled a few strings; I made a few calls, made a few good investments. I thought we'd be all right, but some of those strings…well, I was desperate! I had a family, your tuition, this house, you know, you and your mother aren't exactly low maintenance women…"_

_Umi took a step back, terrified, "Insider trading? Dad, you did that?" she could feel the inevitable wave building, getting ready to break._

"_For you!" he pleaded, and her loving eyes filled with contempt._

"_So this is my fault?" she spun and was about to walk out when his words froze her in her spot._

"_Umi, I'm going to prison. The bank is selling the house and everything in it, and I'm going to prison."_

_The tidal wave crashed over her, deafening her with angry growls, clawing at her body, taking her down to her knees where she found herself staring blankly, just staring, and that was only the beginning._

_**He never chose to play this game**_

_**Taken too far out of control**_

That had only been the breakwater to the dominoes of misery that descended the beautiful daughter of Ryuuzaki. She and her mother had moved in with her aunt, and that in itself was a challenge. Both Umi and her mother had to get jobs – Umi at a local grocery store, her mother as a secretary.

She guessed if that had been everything they might have recovered, but when they got their own two bedroom apartment a month later, and the trials began, they became prime targets for questioning by not only the media, but by the police.

When the police began to get suspicious of their hands on her father's company, her mother did the only thing she thought she could, she took her only daughter, and they ran from society. In this same apartment, Kanaye found Umi's mother and took her under his wing, despite her age. Umi watched, unable to stop it as the men came and went, and as the cash they needed slowly turned to white powder, pills and injections. It was almost a year ago when Kanaye came to her, and she remembered every word and image vividly.

"_Leave!" Umi screamed, clenching her fists at just the sight of him. He brought the foulest things on the planet with him. "She's dead because of you!"_

"_No, young one," he'd never known Umi's name, no one here had. "She's dead because of a massive amount of cocaine."_

"_You sick bastard!" Umi flew at him with all her weight, but he caught her easily and held her to his chest, smoothing her hair and whispering to her so softly that to Umi's heartbroken ears, it sounded tender._

"_I know you miss her, but you have to think about you now, and the future. How are you going to support yourself? You don't have any job experience and nowhere to go. You're not the same girl who came here a year ago. You're smart enough to be able to see a good thing when he's holding you in his arms."_

"_What?" Umi whispered and stepped back._

_Kanaye pulled ten, hundred dollar bills from his jacket and offered them to her, "I have a business and you have a strong spirit and an awesome body. People pay well for that. The guys I bring you won't have diseases, I check them out first, and that's more than you'll get anywhere else. I'll take care of you."_

_Umi's whole body trembled, she felt her mind crumbling. She _needed _that money. Shaking, she pulled the thousand dollars out of his hand and nodded._

_He smiled and patted her hand, "Good, now, you're a virgin aren't you? Well, that is a sweet bonus; I'll find someone willing to teach you for a price and have him over. And don't worry, you'll find the situation grows on you," he winked and walked out, whistling._

That had been the beginning of the death of her soul, but she'd never grown to like what she endured each night, and she'd never trusted Kanaye, despite what she said.

_**Liar, you tempt me**_

Clef knew there was only one Mage in Cephiro with the magic to both perform the spell and change himself – Gage - the shape shifter recluse who lived in the Forest of Silence and coveted his magic jealously. Clef cursed himself for not dealing with his ex-student earlier, but he'd never considered Gage a serious threat, just an annoyance. Until now.

There was no question, no choice. He would perform the spell and go to Earth and bring Umi home. He didn't know how he'd convince her once he got her there, but he knew he had to get her out of Gage's hands – and quickly.

_**I don't know what to do**_

"Hey Ryuu," Kanaye smiled seductively at Umi as he entered, and she shut the door behind him, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Unexpected visit, Kanaye?" she crossed her arms over her chest, turning to face him. He stood a good head taller than she with black hair highlighted red and hazel eyes. He was built for strength, but his muscles didn't bulge. Umi couldn't deny that she was physically attracted to him, but the innate malice in his eyes kept her at bay.

"Yeah," he grinned, taking hold of her hands. "I can't deny that I wanted you the moment I first laid eyes on you, wanted you as my own though, and that's why I haven't allowed myself to take you. That first night, I would have had you myself if I hadn't known I wouldn't be able to stop my jealousy, and you needed the money more than I needed you."

A lump formed in Umi's throat as he got dangerously close.

"But I'm not going to stop myself any longer," he reached in and bit her ear, drawing blood, which made her cry out, and urged him forward. He seized her lips in his and pushed her into the wall, running his hands up and down her thighs, so her whole body ached in the temptation he was presenting her. Her mind urged her to push back, but _his_ body won, and she grabbed his hair, wrapping her legs around him and let him carry her into her bedroom.

_**No guilt is in my heart**_

_**I don't know what to do**_

_**I'm not the reason…**_


	3. Aeon

Hey guys! I hope that everyone is enjoying this story so far. I'd have to say; it's my strongest writing yet, but I suppose the story is kind of hard to come to love...it's a little risky on my part, but I really wanted to do something original, and I've almost completely expended all possibilities for something new. Anyway, I hope that it's working for you all, stay tuned, the chapters will be posted pretty quickly. Read and review!

Chapter Three – Aeon

He leaned over her, his dark eyes shifting maliciously, and Umi slipped out of her trance, squirming backward, "Kanaye, I still need the money. Please, don't ruin what we have."

He shook his head, and Umi caught a glint of something dark around him, "Not anymore, Umi, my dear," he whispered and grabbed her wrists. "I'm going to take you away from here."

"Away?" she questioned frantically, "Where?"

He bit her neck gently, making her moan as his hands caressed her stomach, her chest heaving in a combination of mental terror and sensual pleasure. "To my home and your haven; we're going to save it."

All temporal desires flew from her, "Save it?"

He nodded, almost earnestly, "We're going to free Cephiro of the Master Mage."

_**There is something**_

_**In your eyes**_

"I will be back as soon as I can, and the Magic Knight of Water will be with me," Clef announced to the occupants of his study. Fuu and Hikaru looked at him anxiously, but he refused to answer any questions. "I have found the spell that will take me to Earth. If she wouldn't come willingly with the Knights, I will _force_ her to come with me."

"Are you sure that is wise Guru, with Umi's current mental state?" Ferio began, but Clef cut him off.

"I am sure it is necessary, be prepared for a storm when I return," was all he said before he turned back to the book and began preparing the spell. The others took that as a dismissal and filed out silently, leaving him with his thoughts. _It won't take him much to convince Umi that she needs revenge against me, but against all of Cephiro? _His hands shook as he steadied his staff. _I should have gone after her when I knew she'd run; I should have explained myself. Now I've ruined everything._ Tears sprung to his eyes, but he pushed them away so he could concentrate. This was going to be no little feat.

_**Flowing them over**_

"Clef? But – how – you can't…" Umi put a hand to her mouth and tried to pull her legs up to her chest, but he pulled them back and crawled forward, so he was inches from her.

"I'm from Cephiro, Water Knight, and I heard your plight and felt my own. I was Clef's student, and he pushed me from the Palace too. He's the cause of all that's wrong in Cephiro. What if everything you knew to be good was truly evil?" his eyes bored into hers, compelling her to believe him.

Her own thoughts conflicted with her emotions. She loved Clef, but…it couldn't, yet…she could feel herself losing her spirit to something she was too weak to fight.

Kanaye, Gage, laughed at his own prowess. Look at what he'd done to the Water Knight. She was putty in his hands; his spells wrapped so tightly around her she was nothing more than a prisoner in her own body. _Just a few more words and she's mine, _he pondered over them for a moment and then nodded inwardly, "He was using you Umi, there was no reason for him to leave you except that he realized destroying you and pretending to save you later would give him more leverage over Cephiro, especially the other two Knights. Don't you see? He didn't love you, and he never will – it's all a game – one that has to end."

Umi filled with resentment and slowly nodded, and there was a heavy shift in her spirit that made her eyes dull in apathetic resignation, and Gage grin in triumph.

_**Stealing all the harmony**_

_**Which lives inside me**_

"You're mine now, Umi," he mumbled and bit her neck hard while he produced a silver dagger from nowhere. He pulled up the sleeve of her light blue shirt while she watched with scared eyes, whimpering quietly. When she tried to move away, he grabbed her left wrist and pushed all his weight onto her, so she couldn't escape.

He traced the design in her flesh thinly first, so only a thin pink line appeared. An eight sided star, a large cross shape as the base with a similar x going through the center. Then, angrily, he began to carve, deeper and deeper, whispering frantic words as he did, twisting their spirits together, giving her conflicting memories of pain and lust, forcing her to embrace the dark.

She panted heavily in anguish, but when he was finished, she was his creature. He smiled sickly at her and licked her sweet, innocent blood off his dagger before cutting her clothes from her body, barely able to contain himself with anticipation as he looked at her, swiping delicate slashes and designs in her exposed flesh as what was left of her struggled against him.

"No!" she screamed, tears cascading down her cheeks as she tried to kick him away.

With one hand, he held her wrists above her head and with the other he covered her face, so he didn't have to see her eyes as he massacred her body, making sure not to scar it permanently.

_**Your hands are covering my tears**_

_Why can't I just fight him? _Umi demanded of herself, baring her teeth as he tore her apart. _Because this is your punishment, _something deep and slimy answered her.

_**Oh why?**_

When he released her wrists for a moment to deal with his own clothing, she reached forward and struck him with all the power in her injured, weak body and tried to scramble forward, but he spun and knocked her backward, crushing her jaw. He surged forward and clutched her face painfully, pushing her deep into his eyes, "No one will _ever_ love you Umi, if he couldn't, no one will. Face it." He dropped her back onto the bed, and she crumpled, feeling the effect of his words.

_Clef,_ she thought as Gage slipped beside her, and she rolled over and bit his lip, moving her way down, using the only gift he'd left for her to try and spare herself some pain.

_**There's a sort**_

_**Of inner dance**_

_**Trying to seduce me**_

_**Feeling this anomaly **_

Umi fell back, spent and still bleeding, in more pain than she'd ever felt, but Gage wasn't through with her. He raped her three more times before he lay back and blissfully slept, allowing Umi's battered body and spirit time to rest.

_**Which takes me**_

She remembered what it felt like to lie in Clef's strong arms, totally at home and at peace. There was nothing in the world that could harm her when she was there. The thought made new tears spring to her eyes when she was sure there were none left to her. _But he doesn't love me…no one can, no one will…_the tears fell easily as she sobbed, unable to move, the visions engulfing her.

_His hands fell gently down the contours of her face as he smiled lovingly at her, no hint of ill will or malice in his sparkling blue eyes. He reached in and kissed her passionately, pulling her close, taking all her breath away._

_But he betrayed me! He betrayed us!_

_**Your touch**_

"Umi?" the worst sound in the world flickered in her ears as she passed in and out of consciousness.

_Clef?_ The fleeting thought kept her conscious. _Bastard, he's too late. He won't use me, not anymore._

"Gods," the noise came from her living room, "Umi?"

She wanted to hide, but she couldn't move, and Gage was stirring. She didn't want him to see her like this, so weak and vulnerable. She didn't want him to see her at all.

"Umi, y…" Clef stopped when he entered and saw her lying in her bed, naked, covered only by a thin, blood-soaked sheet. Gage sat up and yawned, smiling triumphantly at Clef as he confronted his former teacher.

_**You're here**_

"Gage," Clef's whole body tensed, rage flying freely through his veins, his magic struggling to break free and help the Magic Knight.

"Welcome, Clef," Gage grinned and pulled Umi's butchered body close. "What do you think of your Water Knight now, dear Guru?"

Something caught Clef's trained eye, a dark aura connected to Gage's, as if he'd somehow bound his spirit to hers, "Umi?" he pleaded, and she just glared.

"No," she answered flatly. "Ryuu."

_**Your heart…**_


	4. Tight Rope

Well everyone, I finally got accepted to my school of choice! dances merrily And even though Carolina lost the playoff game, I'm all right, still surviving. And in celebration, I decided to post a chapter a little early, even though I haven't gotten the five reviews I was hoping for. Tears But it's okay, 'cause I'm sure everyone will be sending them this time...right? Anyway, hope you all enjoy!

Chapter Four – Tight Rope

Clef stepped back in horror. There was no way he could kill Gage without killing Umi, and what had she called herself? Ryuu? Wasn't that Gage's pet name for her? But then…

"I think I beat you to this one, my Guru," Gage fingered Umi's bleeding shoulder then brought his finger to his lips while Clef's face paled and twisted in horror.

"How does it feel to be helpless?" Umi spat viciously, her eyes darkening with every word. "Do you feel like me now? You're not going to hurt me anymore, Clef."

_**Delighting minds**_

_**With my shadow**_

"Umi, this isn't you, please, come back to us. Cephiro is suffering at your hands," Clef begged, trying to put magic into the words, but the spell had drained him, and he could feel her slipping into the reality Gage had created for her.

"That's all I ever was to you, wasn't it? Someone you needed for the land, for your power. Did you ever see me as _me?_ I loved you, and you pushed me aside like a child! Well, now I've grown up, and I don't need you anymore! I don't need anyone!"

"Listen to yourself!" Clef snarled, nearly striking out at her for her stupidity, barely holding back. "You're more childish now than ever! What kind of monster did he make you into?"

Her eyes lowered, and she smiled tiredly, "So now I'm a monster?"

"Ah ha," Gage's eyes glinted as he pulled back Umi's hair and kissed her neck. "So the truth comes out."

"Umi…"

"Get out, we will have our battle soon enough," Umi ordered.

"I won't leave you here," Clef answered defiantly.

"Fine," she responded swiftly, grabbing Gage's hand and Willing herself back to Cephiro.

_**Rely on your way to grow**_

The weeks passed, and Umi grew more hateful with every passing minute. Gage became her teacher, showing her how to manipulate her magic in ways she never thought possible. What was left of her began to accept him as a partner if not a lover, because the nights they shared were far from tender and gentle, and that made her colder as well, as Gage knew it would. She was turning out to be a promising pupil and even more delightful mistress.

They trained relentlessly, preparing themselves by sparring against one another for the battle they'd promised Clef. Umi grew accustomed to hearing Gage's taunting insults as he grew accustomed to her cutthroat attacks when he was at his weakest. But he left gaps in her education, so she could never control the hold he had on her. With those checks and balances, he was infallible, because little did she know it, but the Master Mage had an intense love for her and while Gage and she remained as one, Clef would never touch him. The only one who could hurt him was under his control.

So after they had been in Cephiro for a little over a month, Gage decided it was time he paid a visit to his former teacher, but this time he would go alone.

"Why can't I come?" Umi inquired, putting on her most seductive smile and tracing a finger down his shoulder, but he only pushed her off with a combination of force and magic, and she landed heavily, sprawled out on the ground.

"Because, you little whore, you'll just get in the way," he snapped, and she glowered and rose, using her magic to slam him into the wall of their small cottage. "Bitch," he hissed and smacked her into the floor as she tore at his shirt, and he ripped off her skirt. "Oh, but I love it when you're bad," he sliced a star into her stomach and began his daily pillage of her body.

When he was through, he sighed, still unsatisfied but already behind, "Damn it," he mumbled, replacing his dagger and strolling out without even a second glance at the girl who lie crumpled on the wooden floor, glaring hatefully. Inside, her old self screamed. _Damn it Clef! Stop vacillating! Kill him and me, free me!_

The dark in her smothered another piece of goodness, consuming everything that bubbled to the surface. _He's just delighting in my suffering, watching from his crystal palace, laughing and deciding just when to end it all. Bastard._

_**You want to decide**_

_**From your cloud**_

"May I join you?" the voice at the door stung her ears. How had he known?

"I suppose, if you must," she opened a hand and forced the bathroom door to fling open. "How, might I ask, did you know I was here, and he wasn't?"

Clef shook his head and looked down at her. She was soaking in a luxurious ebony tub, the water up to her chin. Her gorgeous blue hair was tied in a loose bun to keep it out of the water which was rust red and reeked of blood. Her hand dangled lazily over the edge of the tub, that star on her shoulder bleeding freely, "I've lived here long enough to know a few more things than my students," he answered and pulled himself agilely onto the nearby sink.

"Clever too, to catch me at my weakest," she smiled and breathed in the blood – her blood. "You could kill me now and end this."

He nodded, "I could, if I killed you Gage would die and Cephiro would be free, but if I killed you, I would also lose more than a Magic Knight."

Her eyes met his, and for a minute, he held them, willing her to remember what they'd once shared, but she just stared icily back, "Would you hand me a towel?" she asked instead, and he sighed and nodded.

So, for now it was a stalemate, fine, but he wasn't deterred. He would bring her back.

_**You're lost in a world**_

_**That I have to repair**_

He held out the fluffy blue towel for her, using it to cloak his eyes from her bare body and more importantly, the scars that came with it. She wrapped herself in the towel and tied it around her like a dress, "Come with me," she ushered him down the hall to her bedroom where she shut the door and faced him.

"Umi, this isn't who you are," he started, but she cut him off by walking by, uninterested, and lying languidly on the bed, in a position clearly meant to be seductive.

"Oh no?" she inquired, teasing her hair with her long, nimble fingers. "Well, I suppose not. This is who you made me."

He wanted to respond, to defend himself, to explain, but she clamped his mouth shut and drew him forward. Before he could fight back, he was lying on the bed with her crawling toward him.

"I can be what you wanted now Clef, just a toy. You don't need to love me as long as I get what I want. I don't need to trick myself with hope anymore; I know you didn't love me, but I can still have you, even if I was never enough."

_**You want it all**_

_**The greatest smile**_

_**Who wants to deny forever?**_

Clef closed his eyes and murmured a counter spell, breaking hers and knocking her to the bottom of the bed, curled in a fetal position. She raised her head and half pouted, half glared at him, "C'mon, I still have a spirit and a body, and that sells well."

"You are _not_ an item Umi, despite what _he_ tells you," Clef gritted his teeth as he stood and faced her. She was still sitting on the bed, and he towered over her, but where she might have shied back before, now she just blinked at him.

"Neither are you," she grinned and reached out to him, but he backed away. "I know your mind and training are saying one thing, but your body is telling me a different story, Guru. How long has it been since someone entertained your bed, mm?" she threw her head back and laughed though a tear streamed down her cheek.

"Umi, what happened to you?" he whispered incredulously, but a slam of a door from the other room ended the question.

"Get out," Umi hissed, terror leaping into her eyes. "Please, Clef, please, he'll hurt me," for a split second, the real Umi broke through, but that was quickly devoured as well as she stepped up and sauntered out the bedroom door to greet Gage and allow Clef time to slip out the window, staying quiet so he could listen nearby.

_**You're made of ice**_

_**I pay the price**_

_**For all your unforgiveness**_

Umi stayed away from Gage, knowing he was in a foul mood and bound to lash out, and being the only one there beside himself made her a good candidate for that anger.

"Damn him! Where could he have been?" Gage's magic was boiling under his skin; Umi could sense it, the thick black tar that held down her own life source.

Viciously, Gage slammed his magic into her, recklessly throwing her into the wall, so she barely stayed conscious. As he neared, he smelled the familiar scent of Clef's magic lingering near his prize, and he grabbed her shoulders and yanked her upward. Her head spun violently, so she had to clutch her stomach to keep it in place, "Oh, my little Dragon, you've been naughty," he whispered and tossed her easily onto the bed.

"W-what are you talking about?" she whispered, trying in vain to make her words come out smoothly.

"Don't lie to me! He was here! Is he still?" he hammered her with magic, but it bounced back because of his spell and drained him too quickly to be useful.

_**Enlighting lies **_

_**With my shame**_

_**Beneath the veil**_

_**Of your flow**_

He sighed wearily and guessed he'd just have to do it the hard way, so he drew his dagger and stepped forward, but this was not going to be as easy as all the times before, "You think that star hurt? You haven't felt anything yet," he seized her wrist and held her down. She was too drained to even fight back. "Where is he?"

"I d-d-don't kn-know," she stammered, and he smashed the knife into her leg. She shrieked in indescribable torment, his laugh echoing through her soul.

"Where?"

"I don't know," she cried, and he shook her shoulders fiercely.

"You're lying! Tell me!"

_**Don't try to deny**_

_**With your mouth**_

"Leave her alone, I'm right here," Clef stepped into the doorway and flung a shield around her, so she could pass out in relative peace. He strode to the bed, surprisingly unhindered, and touched her forehead gently while she screamed in pain. "Don't worry," he told her softly. "I'm not going to leave you again."

She smiled faintly, the real her, and slipped into a world of darkness, void of everything but silence.

_**So fine it is knowing **_

_**You're under the shade…**_


	5. Entwined

Chapter Five – Entwined

"_Umi," voices in the darkness were calling her name, but she couldn't figure out who they belonged to. The colors faded in and out of her vision, all the colors of the rainbow, bright, most of them clashing meanly in a strange array she didn't understand. "Umi, why have you done this horrible thing? They're dying Umi…"_

"_No, I didn't mean to," Umi pulled herself up from her slumber and tried to explain to the voice that sounded more like a chorus of voices than anyone in particular. "I just…I was hurting, and…" she tried to explain herself, but there were no words. _

_The voice seemed to tisk at her, and she felt her face burning in anger and embarrassment, "Umi, you are a protector of Cephiro! And you would see it burn for a man like Gage? He _raped _you!"_

"_Shut up!" Umi screamed at it. "You don't know anything! You're just a stupid voice in a stupid dream! You don't know what it was like!" _

"_Is that any reason to give up what you stand for? If you have no opinions, if you have no morals or goals, what are you? What are you right now, besides a dark creature? What will you be in the future? Do you think Gage would hesitate to kill you if you got in the way of his plans?"_

_Umi faltered and shook her head, "No, he doesn't love me, I know he doesn't. But…but…" _

_She closed her eyes and remembered the way he treated her, the way he painfully abused her over and over again, the way he tore her body to shreds and laughed about it. She thought of how he'd taught her how to manipulate minds and use her body as a weapon. Everything she'd ever hated in a man was replicated in Gage. She felt herself falling into depression, the visions taking hold of her, the hate entering her heart but centered on a new man._

_**And you take me over**_

"You can't protect her forever," Gage commented smugly. "That shield won't stand for long; we're too near the Forest of Silence; your magic is considerably weaker here. Think of your odds, Guru, fighting me without your magic. I don't think they look very good."

Clef just glowered at his former student, his anger reaching a point beyond words. There was left only a primal disgust and deep desire to kill the man who had destroyed the light of his life.

"Oh I know you hate me, Clef," Gage flipped his dagger over between his fingers. "I know you loved her, and you probably still do. If I were capable of love, _I_ might love her. She's incredible in bed, I mean, really, wow."

His skin crawled, and his glare intensified. He was itching to get his hands around Gage's neck, anything for some satisfaction. If he didn't know that would kill Umi as easily as it would Gage he would have leapt right then and ended it all. Instead, he was just forced to listen as his student pelted him with crude remarks.

Gage shook his head and sighed, sitting down to wait, "I'm really surprised you haven't sent the Magic Knights here to find us yet, to try and convince her…Unless," an evil light entered his eyes and he laughed, delightedly. "They don't know, do they? You must be very convincing to keep this hidden!" he clapped like an amused child and ran a hand through his black hair.

Clef could feel his shields weakening, but he held fast to them, knowing that he couldn't manage a transportation spell from here but also knowing Gage would never let him leave with her. He tried to think, but the situation was grim. _If only there were a way that I could cleanse her here, but…_He turned his head away, realizing he was going to have to leave her.

The shape shifter amused himself by twisting the dagger in his hands, waiting for the Master Mage to finally realize he had won and give up, "It would almost be touching if I didn't hate you so much," he muttered and looked back up, eyes in the shape of a snake's. "But I do, so…really it's just annoying."

Clef closed his eyes and knew he would have to break now, or he would be totally vulnerable, and his death wasn't going to do anyone any good, "I swear Gage, before this is done, I will see your blood on my hands."

Gage threw up his hands and pretended to be scared, "I shall look forward to the day when that threat is to be carried out, and will remind you that you said that when the reverse is true."

Clef tied his shield, hoping it would last and fled. He knew Gage would let him go; the last hold he would put on Umi would be for her to see him die and with him, any chance of her salvation.

_**Over again**_

_Something wrenched Umi out of the darkness, _and her eyes fluttered open. Expecting to fall into Clef's warm blue eyes, she jumped back to meet Gage's slit pupiled black lights. Gasping, she fell backward, but he caught her and held her up, putting a glass of water to her lips, which she drank down greedily.

"What happened?" she choked, and he shook his head and set the glass back down.

"He left you, as I knew he would. He couldn't hold that shield forever, and he had to run or face death," Gage shrugged and set her against the pillows, gently for once.

"What?" she cried as the darkness crept in and devoured another piece of hope. _How much more until it's gone? _She thought to herself, _then_ _will there be nothing? Better nothing than something, if the something is going to be pain… He promised he wouldn't leave me. Why did he leave me? _

"You see, this is why I can never take you anywhere Umi," he sighed, annoyed. "Because if I brought you with me, you wouldn't be ready to kill him, and I know it. Fine, as soon as you're recovered we'll just have to start training harder. As if everything before this wasn't a clear indication of how he felt for you, this has to be. _He left you_. Got it? Isn't that proof enough? Should a man like that really be controlling Cephiro? As soon as you kill him, you'll have your life back."

She nodded submissively. _I don't want to live anymore,_ she begged, _I just don't care anymore…soon though, soon I can die. Then there will be redemption, but at least I will know _why _I'm suffering._

_**I wonder how I go on and on**_

_**When you want to bury my passion**_

For the first time in a month, Umi dreamt, and the dreams plagued her like a disease of the mind.

_She was in the Water_ _Temple, facing the doors to the Dragon Den that wouldn't budge, "Let me in Selece!" she called joyously, laughing to be this near her dear and trusted friend. "Come on!"_

"_Thou shalt not enter," his voice boomed from inside, and Umi's heart dropped._

"_Not funny, come on," she whispered, terror leaping into her body._

"_Thou art a betrayer of Cephiro, and no longer a Magic Knight. Only those who fight the enemy are Knights worthy of their armor."_

"_Selece!" she screamed, banging on the doors until her fists were black and blue. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I'm sorry! Please! You can't leave me! I love you! Selece!"_

_Then, in the way that only dreams can do, she found herself sobbing on the shore, Hikaru and Fuu holding her arms lovingly. _

"_It's okay Umi-chan," Hikaru cooed in her ear, and Fuu hugged her warmly. _

"_No, Hikaru, it's not," Umi grumbled unhappily. "I've betrayed everything I love. I betrayed _you."

"_We don't care Umi-san," Fuu held her tightly. "You're back now."_

"_No, I'm not Fuu," Umi stood and looked at them as they desperately held out their hands to her, urging her to hold on, to stay and fight. "I'm not worthy of you two, I never have been." She turned and sprinted away from them, closing her ears to their shouts. _

_So when Clef entered her dreams, she just kept running, not able to bear the feel of his skin on hers, "Umi!"_

_She found herself sobbing into Gage's chest, heavy sobs that came out of her mouth with a painful shatter of sound. There was nothing she could do to express the hate and fear that welled inside her. She had betrayed everything. When had she gotten so lost? When had she turned down this road? Could it have been so long ago that she'd forgotten? _

"_It's okay now Umi, you're all mine now," he whispered and stabbed her in the back, and she fell back into blackness._

_**You are the shell around**_

_**I cannot escape**_

_**And I swallow my pride**_

She woke up sobbing, her soul crushed even further into the ground. She rolled over to seek solace in Gage's arms, but the only comfort she found was a round of bitter jealousy riddled with an uncontrollable and insatiable rage.

_**Entwined together now**_

Fuu and Hikaru trudged wearily back into the Palace, muscles aching and souls distraught after another long day of monster control. They were getting to be too much to handle alone anymore, and there was still no sign of Umi. Clef had come back unsuccessful and refusing to talk about it, and that had been a month ago. What had he found there that was so horrifying that he wouldn't even include the Magic Knights? There had to be an explanation!

Fuu slammed her fist into the wall to the Palace and started to cry, and Hikaru grabbed her shoulders in a half-hug and tried to console her, "I'm just so worried about her," she looked up to the sky as a fat drop of rain fell from an overhead cloud and landed squarely on her nose. She brushed it off, along with her own tears and turned back to the Fire Knight who had concern and strain written all over her face, more than Fuu had ever seen in the young, carefree girl.

"I know," Hikaru mumbled and the two embraced, trying to find comfort in knowing that at least two of them were still relatively intact. "We're going to get her back though Fuu-chan, I have hope."

Fuu nodded resolutely and agreed, "Come on, let's get out before this storm hits," she urged, and the two headed inside.

They weren't two feet within the door when the Master Mage came toward them, a determined air to his stride, "It's time we discuss the Water Knight," he told them formally, and their ears pricked up immediately.

Hikaru sent Fuu a wary glance, and she returned the suspicion, the two trailing after him silently.

_**It's time to pass it over**_

Umi shut her mind out to all the images of previous nights, this one would be different; she kept telling herself. This one he would be loving, this one… his fist fell hard against her face, and she knew this night would not be any different, but there was no way out. She was trapped, and there was nothing she could do, because where would she run to? She'd burned all her bridges, and now there was nothing and no one that cared for her. She might as well see it through to the end, deal with what came. Perhaps this was her advance punishment for what someone, maybe God, knew she would do in the future. She had always been weak; did some higher power suspect this of her and assign the punishment early on in her life? Something in her felt that at least that would make it easier to accept as she struggled under his dominating abuse.

_**And you take me over, over again**_

_**Entwined together again**_

_**And you take me over**_

_**Over again**_

Clef watched the two Magic Knights exit his study before lying his hands on his desk and setting his splitting head on them. His love for her was so intense he was sure the sun would be cool in comparison. Everything in his body yearned for her to be close to him again, and the fact that anyone would endanger her set him into fits of rage so utterly blinding he wasn't sure he would be able to survive them. She was able to cause such violent reactions in him that it scared him what he would do because of one, but he wasn't able to step back from them. Every waking minute (and most of the dreaming ones) were spent with his mind in her company, reliving every moment they'd spent together, every embrace or tender word that passed between them. He cherished every single one, but he was living in a dream world. The Umi that he'd loved and the Umi that was, were two different people, and he slowly began to wonder if he'd ever get the girl he'd fallen in love with back.

_**I wonder**_

_**How can I live on and on?**_

_**When you want to live in a hurry**_

"Do you think of him when we're together?" Gage asked ruthlessly when he'd once again had his way with her, and she flicked her hair back and shook her head. "I'm surprised."

Her eyes narrowed, and all she wanted to do was hurt him, all she wanted to do was make someone feel the ache that she bore, "He would never treat me as poorly as you do."

"Physically, I believe that," she should have known that he wouldn't have been affected by her words. He took everything in calm strides; nothing seemed to mean anything to him, not even his own life. "But mentally? I doubt it. He did all the initial damage Umi; I just had to teach you how to turn it into something productive. You've still got a long way to go, but you're getting there."

"I hate you."

His eyes glinted, and he kissed her as he stood, "Good."

_**You are the wall**_

_**-that I-**_

_**That I have to remove**_

_Maybe this isn't a job for me, _Clef thought, oddly detached. _I can't handle this. _

_But if not you, who else? _He wanted to destroy the little voice, but he knew it was right. There was no one else; there should be no problem bigger for the Master Mage to handle, but here it was. The one thing he'd been trying to avoid his seven hundred and some years. It was the reason he'd rejected her in the first place, because his feelings were swamping his logic. Logically, he should just kill her and have it ended, but emotionally…he put one of his freezing hands to the back of his neck to cool the fever that was starting in his overworked body. He couldn't kill the love of his life; he just couldn't. There was no way he would be able to live with himself afterward. He had ruined everything; he hadn't detached himself from her soon enough, and now he couldn't let go.

He sighed miserably and tried to force himself to think of it like he was a Master Mage and not a man in love, but there was no way around it. He couldn't imagine killing her, and the only ones beside himself who would be able to would never do it either. He was stuck, and it was all his fault.

_**And I swallow**_

_**I swallow my pride**_

Something came alive in Umi's mind, the only spell Clef could manage through all Gage's coercions and dark magic; a simple thing, weaved of desperation and hope. It was a connection back to him, though not binding like Gage's; it simply allowed her to know where the Mage was and what he was doing, "Stupid, to trust a broken soul," she muttered, but Gage didn't hear her, and she didn't confess the knowledge. What was dark in her didn't trust Gage to let her carry out her own revenge, what little was light didn't want to hurt the man she still desperately loved.

_**Entwined together now**_

_**It's time to pass it over**_

_**Entwined together now**_

_**Entwined Forever**_

That night, Gage ripped open the star-shaped scar on her arm and reapplied his coercions, but Clef's spell was safely embedded and hidden in her, and when the fight for survival began again, the good in her had a place to hide. Somewhere, the love of her life was bitter and hateful to the man who had done such wrong on her, and somewhere, he was fighting just as madly as she fought for her freedom.

_**And you take me over**_

_**Over again**_

Clef sighed and closed his eyes as the part that was good in Umi flew to hide in his spell, softly caressing his mind with her gentle presence. That was his assurance – there was still a Knight to fight for – a Knight he had come to cherish above all other things, above even Cephiro itself. They were all wrapped together now, the greatest love of his life, the worst enemy and himself; all so tightly intertwined that he wasn't sure any of them would survive an attack, but as Umi was pillaged once more, dying didn't seem so terrifying. There were, after all, things worse than death, and living without Umi was one of them.

_**Entwined together**_

_**Entwined forever**_


	6. Daylight Dancer

Chapter Six – Daylight Dancer

"Do you still love him?" Gage asked calmly. He and Umi were seated on the living room floor which was temporarily bereft of all its sparse furniture. Umi sat so she faced her mentor, legs crossed, arms resting on her knees, eyes closed. Gage took up mostly the same position, except his eyes were open, so he could stare at the energy flows that were surrounding the Water Knight. Her aura was almost overtaken by the black of sickness and evil, yet there was still some of the deep blue of mourning and her native element warring for control of her soul. It was clearly a losing battle. _If only she'd had some of the light green of healing and love,_ he thought and smirked. She was all his, and she did have such a scrumptious body. He hadn't even gotten tired of her yet; he'd only made one excursion to find some new prey, and the girl had been rather unsatisfactory. _Still, I should make it a point to bring in new girls; I can't have my pet thinking she's unique or holds some kind of special place in my heart. Besides, monogamy is such an unbecoming trait in an evil warrior._ He sighed and added the idea to the list of things he had to accomplish in her training.

_Her training,_ the reminder made his thoughts spin full circle, and he realized that she still hadn't answered his question. When he took a closer look at her aura, he saw a tinge of the dreaded deep purple of unrequited love, and his eyes flared, "Answer!"

_**Answer me, it can't be so hard**_

"N-no," Umi stammered when Gage's whip-like tongue pulled her out of her daze. She'd been thinking again, about Clef. For some reason, he was still alive in her mind, new and fresh, completely exposed and still just as beautiful and tempting as he'd been before she'd left. When Gage had posed the question that presence had been what stopped her from responding immediately. For the first time in weeks, she'd felt tears well in her throat, dangerously close to spilling over, and for him? What did she owe him? Then came the voice, _your life_. She was almost sure the voice would be crushed, but it was anchored to something more powerful than Gage's spells, and it remained.

"Will you kill him when I bid you to?" Gage continued cautiously, playing with fire. There was something too much like power in Umi's aura, and he'd only recently begun to realize how dangerous a tool she was.

Umi's mouth opened, but no sound came out except the end of a strangled sob that tore her out of her concentration, "I need to get some air," she mumbled and stood, legs trembling as she stumbled to the door, Gage's eyes growing with suspicion as he watched her leave.

_**Cry to relieve what's in your heart**_

_**Desolation, grief and agony**_

Umi sank against the nearest tree, heaving with cries that brought forth no tears, "Why won't you let me go?" she screamed to the sky, hoping her despair-ridden voice would reach the Master Mage and batter him with guilt. Angrily, she gathered all her magic around herself and turned it inward, throwing it at the unceasing presence that kept her alive with hope. If she could destroy the hope, then the promised numbness would surely come. She wouldn't be complete, but she would no longer be broken.

When the presence held strong and sent her its own energy to replenish her deeply wounded soul, she sprawled out on the soft moss of the forest floor. She no longer cared about dirt or appearance. Her whole body was weak, she felt like a starved tiger, lying down to meet its final battle, too tired to fight death and too broken to care, "Clef," she groaned. "Please, I just want to die, grant me one last kindness, please, kill me."

_**Trying to move**_

_**Down in this grave**_

"Get up!" rough arms grabbed her small biceps and wrenched her from the ground. "You have work to do; you're obviously not ready, and the Magic Knights won't sit around for much longer."

"What does this have to do with Hikaru and Fuu?" Umi demanded, ripping away from him and turning to glare.

"Don't worry, when they come for you, I'll be ready to protect you," Gage assured her with a sardonic little smirk.

"Banish them, but if you hurt them, I swear by my sword…" Umi started gritting her teeth and grasping for the good for once.

"By your sword?" he laughed and patted her head mockingly, "My dear Umi, your sword symbolizes a duty that you've already betrayed. I don't think it is an accurate relic by which to swear. Welcome to the new fold," he flashed a toothy grin at her, and she felt her stomach give way as another huge part of her collapsed and began to melt away. _Dear gods,_ she thought from somewhere deep inside, _I don't want to betray them! They're my sisters, the only family I have left!_

_**Trying to believe in every faith**_

_**As another bridge to clarity**_

_**Want to stay another way**_

"You want to _what?"_ Ferio bellowed, rising up onto his toes in anger, his hands clenched.

"I want to invite Umi and a guest to the Beltane Festival," Clef repeated calmly, trying his best not to sigh exasperatedly at Ferio's stunned expression. They were all sitting at breakfast; it was a little over a week since he'd been forced to leave Umi alone and since then, he'd been brooding over what to do about the whole situation. She was still fighting, barely, but she was, and he thought bringing her home might be a good way to get a much needed foothold.

"Absolutely not," Ferio answered firmly, "Look, Clef, Umi means a lot to us, but Beltane is supposed to be a time to celebrate the harvest and be happy. The people _need_ that happiness, to be reassured. Bringing the cause of their heartache wouldn't raise much morale," Ferio tried to sound resolute, but he could only guess how much Clef was really hurting. They all knew he loved the Water Knight, and with the situation growing more desperate by the day, he knew Clef's thoughts roamed closer and closer to the inevitable death of his ex-lover. _What would I do if people begged me to order the murder of Fuu-chan? _He shuddered at the thought and tried to be firm yet sympathetic.

"I think Umi needs happiness more than anyone," Ascot mumbled meekly, and Clef smiled thankfully at his student. The two had formed a strange but powerful alliance since Umi began to turn. Ascot claimed it was for friendship, but they all knew it was for love, but neither he nor Clef had to mention it as long as Umi was safely returned.

"We _cannot_ invite the enemy into our homes," Ferio stood and slammed his hand on the table, making utensils fly and his cup tip over and shatter, but he remained motionless, amber eyes glittering. _There, I said it; all cards are on the table now._

"Umi-chan is _not_ the enemy," Hikaru defended, squaring off against Ferio, rising to challenge him with glowing fireballs.

"Then who do you think is?" Presea inquired just as softly as Ferio had been forceful. Her hands were in her lap; her head lowered, so she didn't have to meet Hikaru's pain-stricken eyes.

"Gage," Fuu responded simply and rose with a courtly grace that seemed to fit her. Slowly, she met the eyes of everyone at the breakfast table which had somehow turned into a war council, making sure to measure each with her eyes before she began. "If we attack Gage we attack Umi-san, but if _Umi-san_ attacks Gage, he dies and his spells are broken. This, of course, means that we must first convince Umi-san to attack her partner and lover," she paused for the brief second that jealousy had consumed Clef, allowing him time to regain his thoughts and begin thinking clearly again. "But it took a lot to retrain her, so the lengths should be less to restore her."

"Any lengths are worth it," Hikaru added, and Fuu smiled empathetically but kept a neutral position. This was how she and Hikaru worked, Hikaru supplied the passion and she the logic.

"So we have only to convince her of her own worth and gently remind her of her duties. I agree with Clef; Beltane would be a perfect time for this," Lantis agreed after a long moment of silent contemplation.

Then, all eyes slowed rotated to Ferio, who didn't want to back down for his people, but knew he couldn't argue for his friends, "Anything fishy and they're gone," he covered, and Fuu smiled warmly while Clef agreed and set to work on just the right wording for his invitation. The wording would be crucial; Umi had to see it as what it was – the words of a desperate man searching for the love of his life. Gage had to see it as an opportunity, and neither could believe it was a trap. But Clef _was_ the Master Mage, and he'd been handling sensitive cases like this for centuries, there was at least something he could finally do.

_**Take another chance**_

_**To find a distant sanity**_

"We have a message for the Magic Knight of Water."

Umi threw the door open and smiled ever so slightly at Fuu and Hikaru who were standing fully armed in her doorway. She anchored the intense love she had for them to that omnipresent strength inside her, and not even Gage's overwhelming evil could wash it away.

"What do you want with a dead girl?" Gage asked calmly, coming up from behind Umi and gripping her shoulder painfully. Before, she would have shrieked and moved away, now she just bit the inside of her cheeks, let the blood drain from her face, and stayed silent.

Both Fuu and Hikaru exchanged dark, hateful glances, but Hikaru moved forward and chose to speak, "We wish to invite her and a guest of her choice to the Beltane Festival."

For a split second, Umi's eyes filled with joy, but then the dark seized her and suspicion surrounded her, "Why would you want to invite your enemy?" she demanded, and Hikaru's large, ruby eyes filled with tears. It was one thing to hear from Ferio that Umi was the enemy; yet, it was quite another to hear from Umi that she was the enemy. How many enemies had they fought and defeated together? She never would have imagined in her worst nightmares that they'd be fighting apart, let alone one another. The thought was enough to quell what was left of her spirit, but fortunately, Fuu took it all in stride and answered smoothly.

"What enemy? We didn't invite _him_," her fierce eyes lit on Gage to see him scowl before they mellowed and moved back to Umi, "We invited you, our best friend. We want you to be there; you are still a Magic Knight, but more than that, you are a part of us. We only ask, if you invite the enemy, please keep him in line for one night. That will be your Beltane gift to us," Fuu reached forward with Hikaru and each clasped one of Umi's hands, forcing their love, pain and magic through her before Gage wrenched her away, scowling a vicious scowl that contorted his handsome features, showing the evil that truly lie inside.

Fuu's lips curled back, and she almost hissed at him, but Umi's torn expression and trembling hands told her that her friend would be in enough trouble without a fight to add to her list of offenses.

"We will consider the offer, very carefully, Knights, rest assured, _very_ carefully," Gage threw Umi from the doorway like some kind of life size rag doll and slammed the door in their faces with one last malicious, abnormal sneer which told them they'd upset Umi enough to frighten Gage into intimidation; they were gaining ground.

* * *

"What does it say?" Gage demanded viciously the minute he was back in their small cottage. Umi had her legs folded under her while she sat on their bed, reading the invitation with a deep look of concentration on her face. That concentration, combined with flecks of Hikaru and Fuu's magic floating in her aura, worried him. For an instant, he caught a different color there, flaring as she read, but then it was gone. He shook his head, assuming he'd imagined it, and turned his focus back to the Magic Knight.

She looked up at him as if just noticing his presence and shrugged, passing it over to him. He snatched it from her hands but didn't look at it right away, instead, he kept his eyes on her, prodding her with his magic, but whatever he'd seen, seemed to have vanished. She stayed absolutely still during his examination, knowing full well what he was looking for and praying that he didn't find it. She didn't want to think about what would happen if he did.

Satisfied for the moment, Gage turned his eyes back to the light blue invitation clutched in his hand. The stationery seemed to be specialized just for Umi because there was a blue dragon twined around the top, its tail hanging lazily down the left margin, small blue flowers falling from its mouth. Gage smirked, but the smile fell from his face when he recognized the spirally silver writing, too ornate to be just anyone's – Clef.

_To the Magic Knight of Water, Donner of Selece, tamer of Dragons and jewel of the sea –_

_It is with the greatest pleasure that I invite you to this year's Beltane Festival to celebrate with us on this most joyous occasion. But, it is with a greater pleasure that I invite you, Umi, not as a Magic Knight, but as a radiant woman, back into the home you've misplaced. And I, not as a Master Mage, but as myself, wish for you to be there; your presence would give me much joy, not only for myself (though I may be so selfish to say I miss you sorely) but for your friends who yearn hourly for your missing smile. Please, grant us this greatest Beltane gift and come, no matter who accompanies you, if you are there, the day is brighter._

_With undying hope and affection,_

_Clef_

Gage read the note several times thoroughly then turned to Umi who was lost in her thoughts, "What do you think?" he didn't move his eyes from her, waiting for her to show the slightest sign of abnormality.

She sighed, "An opportunity, and a damn good one too," she unfolded her legs and rose gracefully from the bed, walking past him, but he grabbed her arm as she walked by and mutated his fingers, so they dug in painfully, "What?" she screamed as she wrenched away, not even caring about the blood that was slipping easily down her forearm, the serpent that delivered Eve to the tainted fruit.

"An opportunity for who? A trap? A ploy? A game, Umi?" he questioned fiercely.

"Don't call me that!" she screamed, the sound of her own name grating against her ears.

"What, is it too hard to hear? That the beautiful, intelligent Umi Ryuuzaki, Water Knight, glory of Cephiro, would turn into this? You're a monster now Umi, taste the air, but you can't; feel the burn, but you don't; see the sea, but you won't! You are nothing but another whore, a little plaything, and if I get tired of you, you will be dead! I stole your innocence, but you made it available; you, Umi Ryuuzaki, once savior, now sinner. And now you have nowhere to run, nowhere."

Umi's eyes darkened with every word, "No, Gage," she mumbled. "I _am_ something, and you need me. I'm your ticket out of the hell you've created, a ticket to power you can't even fathom, me, Ryuu. I am the only one who can get us both what we want – the blood of the Master Mage, and you'd better not play too hard with your "little plaything" because she might learn to play back," she flicked a knife out from nowhere, and his eyes glittered hungrily. Finally, he'd created his creature of pain and darkness, and his whole body ached with anticipation of this new game.

"That's why you're going to seduce him my love," he slammed her against the wall, leaning his entire massive weight into her, both breathing heavily in anger.

"I've tried," Umi hissed fiercely, and he pulled away, turning his back to her. She saw it ripple from human to some sort of hunched creature and back before he whirled around and backhanded her.

"Use your magic!"

Umi spat out a tooth, "Bastard," she grumbled, and he sighed, flicked a few fingers and reset it.

"Here, sit down, and I'll teach you the spell."

She glared and consented, sitting next to him and waiting for the energy waves to begin to move.

Gage watched for a few moments as the last of her innocence was swallowed by darkness. She was finally finished her training, and to think, all it had taken was for him to merely say her name.

"Are you going to start or what?" she snapped, and he grinned and nodded, the transformation was complete.

_**And turn your pain in truth**_

Clef closed his eyes and put his head in his hands as his spell shattered and snapped back to him, crumpled into a small, battered ball, the little pieces of herself she'd hidden there clinging to it, barely alive. His heart tore in two neat pieces, yet the tear was not a clean one. Hope vanished from his life in a single, heart-devouring instant, and with no hope, there can be no life.

"Guru, we need you to help with the Festival," Presea's weak voice called from the other side of the door. "The weather seems to have worsened in the last few moments, and Ferio is afraid we'll have to move the decorations inside and enlarge the castle for the Festival. If that's the case, we might want to use the gardens, or…or…"

"It's all right Presea," Clef opened his door and set a hand on her shoulder, "I'll handle it."

Presea nodded, understanding the profound loss in Clef's eyes and touched his hand softly, "I've always loved you, you know."

He smiled sadly and nodded, "But you know I'll never let her memory go; it would not be a fair or happy life for either of us."

"A lie is never fair," she choked, and he agreed with a gesture.

"Wise words for one so seemingly young."

"Here are some more – don't throw away your happiness because you _think_ it can't be done. She _loves_ you."

He shook his head and removed his hand.

"Yes, she does," Presea answered stubbornly, squaring her shoulders and putting on her fiercest glower. "Maybe not the wreck that Gage controls, but _she_ does, and one day you'll get to hear what we already see."

_I already have Presea, and I pushed it away, my mistake will cost her her life and my sanity, but it will end._

"Arigato, you are a good friend Presea, and a steadfast one, more than any old man could deserve."

She smiled and walked away, tears darkening her already darkened cheeks.

Clef shut his eyes once more, took a deep breath and built the largest walls he'd ever built, preparing himself for the cleansing that had somehow become unavoidable. The Festival that was never meant to be a trap, signaled the closing of the latch on the cage, the beginning of the end was near. And as the storm raged, the decision he knew he had to make grew more and more hazy in his mind; there was only one saving grace for him – an end meant death, and death meant freedom.

_**Take another chance**_

_**To fight a different enemy**_

_**And try to free it**_

The Palace was decked out in all sorts of autumn colors, bright reds, oranges and yellows that made the whole place shine with a warm glow. People filed in from all over the country, from the poorest peasant clothed in their Sunday best which was merely rags, to the richest nobles dressed in the finest silk styles. The Cephirans greeted one another brightly, yet tentatively, none more so than the Master Mage.

Clef stood with Hikaru, Lantis, Fuu and Ferio, at the center of the Grand Hall, decked out in their best. Fuu was dressed in a deep, rich green that reminded him of deeply matured leaves, Hikaru in a gown of blood red velvet, the texture and color of a falling maple leaf. Even Lantis had picked a deep purple cloak that seemed to be an oak in the last stages of its color changing, while Ferio dressed to match his wife. Despite the smiles on all their faces, there was an innate fear around them, a rough edge that simply would not smooth out. Clef stared placidly out to the crowd of incoming people, but his eyes held a sickly sweet wince, and his knuckles were white from clenching his staff. Ferio ground his teeth fiercely, while Lantis readjusted his sword hilt every few seconds, making sure it was just so. Hikaru bit her bottom lip and fiddled with her ovum absently, but Fuu's eyes were the stage of an inner battle no one dared interrupt. Clef flicked his eyes toward the Wind Knight, then back to the crowd, watching. He knew she was fighting the same battle that he had – logic versus emotion, duty versus love, numbers versus heart break. Logic had prevailed in him, but somewhere, he prayed emotion would win for Fuu.

Something carried on the wind snapped Fuu back to reality, and her eyes focused on the ballroom door. Normally, Beltane was to be held outside, but since the storms started, living outside had gone from miserable to impossible. Still, Clef had made sure the inside was decorated to look like the outside, with huge, brightly colored trees surrounding the edges of the room, and a deep green carpet of moss beneath their feet. The banquet tables lined beneath the trees were covered in splendid harvest foods, but it wasn't enough for all the people present to eat their share – the harvests hadn't come through, and what was there was made by ingenuity and leftovers from last year. Still, that they had anything was enough to provide hope, and the people were happy to weather a bad year so long as it was only one. That was the only thing that kept Clef's mind soothed and on the task ahead of him, even when Fuu's rapt attention turned out to be focused directly on Umi and Gage. Umi, most purposefully, had never been more beautiful, possessing an icy, detached air that added the weight of years to her nimble features. He ached at her appearance, everything in him bursting to have her in his life again, even so corrupt, to hold a piece of the perfection that once resided within her.

"Welcome, Magic Knight," Ferio greeted stiffly, growling at Gage who simply smirked his confidence.

Clef's eyes traced Umi's body, which he found unbelievably easy to do in the skin tight black dress she wore that flared slightly at the bottom and sported a scandalous slit that made its way up to her middle thigh. Her hair was up in an elegant bun and luxurious blue curls raced their way down her face, accenting her cold sapphire eyes. In stark contrast to her doll-like beauty was the shape shifter who stood beside her, taking the form of a horribly ugly man, shorter than she, with lanky, awkward appendages and wild, curly black hair that flew out at all angles. The only thing he allowed himself were the most gorgeous, penetrating blue eyes Clef had ever seen, and they stared at him in triumph. Clef detested his ugly face, where, for another, he would have felt pity – Gage had chosen this form for a specific reason – to show Clef how devoted Umi was to her master. He could take even a detestable, scarred, grotesque form, and she would still be on his arm – the beauty and the beast. Only, her beauty and his ugliness were just as superficial as the smiles they offered. Gage had come to infuriate his former master, and he was successful. Clef decided at that moment that if Umi would have to die, Gage would pay, and pay very dearly at that. He'd told himself he would make it quick, that vengeance wouldn't replace the void in his life, but that grin on Gage's face made him reconsider.

"Umi-chan, it's so good to see you!" Hikaru called and hurtled herself forward, throwing her arms around Umi, who simply stood still, refusing the embrace.

When Hikaru realized Umi wasn't going to return the hug, she recoiled, but before silence could swallow them, Fuu met Umi's cold gaze and small frown with a sarcastic smile.

"I only wish I could say as much for your companion; it is a shame to see beauty such as yours wasted on a creature so ugly and gnarled."

Gage's 'smile' only added to his ugliness, bringing the scars that tormented his face to life and making his eyes seem larger than they were, his head smaller; Clef absently thought Gage looked the age Clef _was_, "Oh, Princess, you forget, beauty is found on the inside, not the other way around," his grin widened when Fuu looked away from his hungry glance.

"Oh, _you _forget," she answered coolly, "I speak of what's on the inside."

Clef grinned wickedly and mentally cheered for Fuu, but Gage kept right on smiling while Ferio called for music.

"Come, Umi my love," Gage directed, and Umi nodded, her expression never wavering as Gage twirled her onto the floor; Clef's grip on his staff tightening, his stomach clenching in apprehension. How was he going to do this? She was the only one he'd ever loved! How could he see her with this monster? How could he cave to her defeat, watch it with a strange and morbid acceptance? The thought made self-loathing swarm into his stomach.

"Then dance with her," Fuu mumbled to him as she and Ferio waltzed past, and his head shot up.

A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead, did he dare? It was only one dance; yet, one dance could change the course of history. He knew that all too well. But when Gage moved his prize near the Master Mage, Clef made up his mind; one dance would only prove to him that the piece of her that he held was completely and utterly gone. He clapped and his staff vanished in a whispering wind as he approached boldly, taking a vicious grip on his former pupil's shoulder, "May I cut in?"

_**Dance with me**_

_**It can't be so hard**_

"Here's your chance my ice queen – show me what you've learned," Gage whispered heatedly in Umi's ear before he bit it angrily then withdrew to hand his trophy off to the Mage.

"Go easy on her, I hear someone stupid broke her heart," he snickered wickedly as he strutted past, shifting his shape into a handsome young man while he did, preparing himself for the hunt. Clef's eyes blackened, and he wanted to chase after the monster who'd destroyed his angel, but Umi's vulnerable expression flickering in and out of her apathy made him reconsider.

_**Time to reveal**_

_**What's in your heart**_

_**Desolation**_

_**Grief and agony**_

With as much gentleness as he could find in his being, he lifted Umi's hands to his lips, bowing slightly as he did. When his kiss met her hand, a shock of magic exploded inside him as the part of her seeking refuge in him trembled. _Evil_, it hissed softly in his ears, strengthening his crumbling walls.

For a moment, Clef remained silent, simply staring at the shell of the woman who had once so enamored him. Here were her features; yet, her hands were cold as ice, her eyes hard, her expressions nondescript. He was incapable of movement, frightened by her cool eyes. He probably would have stayed that way forever except that something cool slipped in between his barriers and made its way toward the alive piece of her soul, which shied back in fear. Immediately, he slammed a barrier in place, shutting an iron gate on her magic.

When Clef's calm gaze met hers, she wrinkled her face in distaste, "That's mine," she growled, but he shook his head and tightened his hold on her as if he could push the emotion he felt onto her, so she could see what she was doing to him, see how she was ripping him apart.

"No," he whispered feverishly, holding her eyes fast on his, "what part of you that was beautiful belongs to me. When you forsook our love I became the keeper; I won't see that die."

For a split second, he thought he'd broken through to her, an instant of warmth before it faded back into apathy, "What love? There can be no love when the feeling isn't reciprocated on both sides. You prate of something you cannot feel; it's noble, to want to save me, maybe even right for Cephiro, but – it's not love."

Clef's stomach clenched painfully, if only he could prove to her how he loved her, how she tortured him, "You're wrong," he whispered hotly, suddenly drunk with pleasure, blissfully consumed by her presence. Vaguely, he realized she was casting on him, but he didn't care – it gave him an excuse to veer away from his original intents.

"Oh yeah?" she challenged as the music faded, and the two were left standing still, not touching, passion meeting anger in a beautiful mental tango that stole the breath, "Prove it."

There were a thousand things he wanted to do, rush forward and kiss her to floor, force her to understand, scream at her, so she would recognize her faults, hold her and shower her with the affection she deserved, that she craved and that he was so willing to give. But he didn't, he stood there, frozen, not daring to move. _I know she's casting, for some reason she wants me to act upon my desires, but…my love is no spell. What if it's unintentional? What if she knows my purpose, is there something in her that still longs for love, for life?_

He turned his head from the dark aura that was swirling around her, pushing the magic away and turned his back on her – always turning his back on her. Before he knew what was happening, he felt Gage advance on her, snarling in rage, "You little whore; you couldn't even get a proper seduction spell to function!"

Clef whirled, mentally tossing his staff into his hands where he immediately formed a shield around Umi and gripped Gage's wrist in his right hand, "_Don't_ touch her," he hissed vehemently, holding the shape shifter back, meeting his ugliness with a fiery, brilliant beauty that hypnotized the room.

For long minutes there was absolute still, before Gage lowered his hand and smiled maliciously at the Master Mage, "As you wish," he swept into a bow, folding his hands elegantly beneath him, and as he rose, eyes slid off them and hesitant dancing resumed.

"You will suffer immensely for what you've done to her, Gage," Clef warned in a low rumble, but Gage kept smiling.

"You think your threats scare me now? I hold the love of the creature that you weren't smart enough to covet, and I've destroyed her. It's a beautiful counter harmony. Is that a D flat minor I hear in her soul?" he chuckled softly at his art, but Clef didn't find the allusion amusing.

"What you stole from her will come from you, only trebled," Clef's voice was a faint whisper, yet those who heard it felt the strength of mountains echoing behind it. He would not be put down by a man such as this.

Gage chuckled and tisked softly at the Mage, "Ah, you forget, _master_," he used the word scathingly, his eyes darkening for a moment before he allowed the playfully cruelty to reenter in his ice blue globes, "whatever you take from me comes from her. And I don't think you'd be willing to do that."

Clef winced inwardly, but didn't flinch, "You were always a terrible student Gage, too impatient for your own good. I'm sure there are cracks in your human shield, and her bindings will be freed."

The shape shifter shook his head, "Whatever you say Clef, whatever you say."

_He's too arrogant, there's something tricky in his spells_, Clef thought to himself, glancing at Umi and wondering what it was that was hidden deep inside of her that Gage had such confidence in. _It must be mind magic, and she's fallen right into it and built her own shields against both of us. _His mind roamed into the dark area of his soul, the area that suffered silently with Umi, and he wondered how she was still breathing. The guilt and anguish and longing must be wrenching at her soul. _How many times has he raped her, physically and mentally?_ He tried not to think about it, tried not to debate which one would be worse. He'd seen rape victims that killed themselves from the inside out, slowly withering away to nothing. Even if he broke the spells binding her to Gage, she would never be the same. How could he heal her? Desolation broke through his walls of apathy so that he wanted to throw his head back and howl. He loved her, and she was lost to him. There she stood, so close, yet unwilling to come into his embrace, despite the itching under his fingers to force her toward him. She was in pain, his wounded dove, dark as the night of a new moon, bleeding openly from a hundred thousand gouges, some of them with his name on them. How could he ever forgive himself?

"I see your inner turmoil," Gage whispered softly to Clef. "Don't take all the credit, most of this was my doing, but…we'll not let her in on that secret, shall we? Well, I suppose she probably knows it, don't you love?" he looked over at Umi, who glared fiercely back.

"Know what?" she snapped, and Gage grinned at Clef's moment of amazement. She was living off of hate. She didn't love Gage; she wouldn't even be bound to him if she didn't hate him so entirely. Her whole presence was devoted to finding a way to destroying him, and the old proverb "keep your friends close and your enemies closer" held truer to her than any he'd ever seen. Their fates were inextricably linked.

_**Walking through a life decayed**_

"Cleffy here thought that you might actually love me," Gage scoffed, and she laughed with no warmth and approached him, grabbing him in a fierce, passionate kiss while raking her fingernails across his stomach so that Clef could smell the blood.

"I love to hate you," she whispered as he slapped her and bit her neck angrily, nearly pushing her to the ground with the disgusting form of embrace.

Clef wanted to turn and run, wanted to do anything but stand there and watch it, but he couldn't tear his eyes away. It was like a particularly ugly train wreck that he could do nothing about, nothing to stop it, nothing to slow it down. Hopelessness wrapped its heavy cloak around him, and he was swallowed up in it.

"Look at you," a crisp voice broke in from behind them, and Clef spun to meet Fuu's angry green eyes. Ferio held her arm to hold her back, but it was Hikaru who timidly stepped forward.

"Look at what you've become Umi-chan," Hikaru whispered quietly, forcing herself to meet Umi's ice cold eyes. "No one likes you like this anymore, Umi-chan. We don't want to keep seeing you like this. You're doing it to yourself; it's not Clef, it's not even Gage. All you have to do is admit that you still love us, that you miss us, that you want to come back and we'll have you back. Everyone here," she waved her arm to the ballroom full of people who were casually trying to ignore them. "All these people want you back. They want to see you happy again. There's nothing else there Umi-chan, just us wanting your happiness. Why can't you see that?" Hikaru pushed away the tears, rubbing her eyes quickly, but they just kept springing up. "You're hurting all of us Umi, is that what you want?" she screamed, breaking down, clenching her hands into fists and approaching, throwing Gage out of the way with a hand.

_So it seems Umi isn't the only one who's learned magic under my nose,_ Clef thought absently.

"He's a monster Umi," Fuu countered. "That man is a monster, and you're too beautiful for a beast."

"It's rude to call the Master Mage a beast," Umi answered coolly, and Fuu's eyes lit up.

"Put Clef aside Umi-chan, just look at us," Hikaru gently ushered Clef to the side and went to stand by Fuu. "Do you remember? Don't you see you're doing the same thing to us that Emeraude did? Do you remember, Umi-chan, when we had to kill her? Do you remember the pain that we felt? Do you know what it would feel like to do it again? You're doing that to _us_ Umi-chan, you are; you're killing us, and you mean more to us than anyone we've ever known. Why are you letting two men get in the way of that? We're your _sisters_!"

_**While you're repeating**_

_**Your mistakes**_

"Take our hand, and come back to us," Fuu whispered and held out her porcelain hand. "We'll fix whatever is hurting inside you. If you never want to see Clef again, we'll make it so you don't have to, just come back to _us_."

_**There's another chance**_

_**To try to get away**_

Umi stared at the hand for long moments, standing on the precipice between good and evil, but Clef knew long before the offer was made that evil had her too strong in its holds. That was a huge jump, and what Umi needed was baby steps, "It's not about love anymore," Umi told them, a slight tremble in her sweet voice. "It's not about loyalty, or Cephiro, or any of that bullshit they've been feeding us all these years. There are things I have to do for myself now, and none of you can stop me."

"You're being selfish! Give us your hand!" Fuu shouted, but Umi shook her head, plastering the mask of pure calm back on her face

"_You're_ being selfish!" Umi spat back, her voice steady and cool, "I have things I have to do, don't get in the way of that."

"Why don't you care about yourself?" Hikaru begged.

"Oh, so first I was selfish and now I don't care enough about myself?" Umi tossed her hair and scoffed. "Well, here's a thought for you; I think that you're both hypocrites, and I won't have any more of this talk. I loved you once, and then you forgot about me. You left me there to rot; you sided with the one man who destroyed me, and I don't think friends do that. Sayonara, Fuu, Hikaru," she whirled and stalked gracefully out of the ballroom, every eye on her.

Hikaru collapsed into Fuu's arms, as Fuu just stared after her once friend.

"When did it come to this?" the Wind Knight choked, and Ferio put a quiet hand on her shoulder, shaking his head slightly.

"There was nothing we could have done," the Prince's eyes drifted to the Master Mage, who nodded sullenly, his eyes a picture of decay and desolation.

"Well, I think I'll take my leave to escort my Princess home," Gage winked at the Knights, and then turned his smile toward the Master Mage as he shifted casually into the handsome young nobleman he'd been while the Mage and Umi danced. "And leave you with this, my good Guru, she's _mine_. Tonight, she'll lie in the other room and listen to someone be treated with the respect she never got from me, and she _certainly_ never got from you." And with that, he slipped into the crowd. In another half hour or so, Clef watched him leave the ball, a beautiful young peasant girl on his arm, laughing brightly at his tainted yet gorgeous words.

"I need to lie down," he whispered softly, and the others nodded and let him leave. But lying down wasn't what was on his mind. The moment he'd left the room, he clapped, gripped his staff, settled his stomach and disappeared to land right outside the Forest of Silence where he knew the two made their home. If he was going to do it, it better be now, before Gage could get his hands on another innocent. _Oh gods, Umi, I'm sorry,_ he thought as he stiffened and began the short walk to where he knew she was. _I'm so sorry, but I know this is how you would want it. I'm not fighting you anymore; I'm fighting the evil that has consumed you. I love _you_, but this creature can't be called you. I hope that what life is left in you will understand._

_**Take another chance **_

_**To find a distant sanity**_

_**And turn your pain in truth**_

_**Take another chance**_

_**To fight a different enemy**_

_**And try to free it**_


	7. Humane

A/n: Sorry this took so long, not much else to say. Go watch my video on it's fabulous, it's about the band 30 Seconds to Mars, which is the BEST BAND EVER! For the hyperlink look at my profile, there's an extended explanation there, . Um…what else? Oh p.s., the lyrics this song is set around are by Lacuna Coil (in case you didn't know) and I saw them LIVE a couple weeks ago, they were pretty awesome. And just for the record, I knew them before they got big, just for the record, hahaha…that's about it, love you guys!

Chapter Seven – Humane

Umi wandered aimlessly around the Forest, unable to go back, not yet. And besides, she knew that Gage would arrive to their home with someone else, someone prettier, lighter, happier, funnier, just to prove a point. He didn't want her; no one wanted her. She hated him. With everything she was and everything she had been, she hated him. She wasn't even sure why she bound herself so tightly to him, except that she knew the closer she got to him, the harder it would be for him to separate their fates. It was only a matter of time now before Clef decided she was a lost cause and killed her. She knew that she could never defeat the Master Mage, not without killing Fuu and Hikaru along with him, and that was something she was still not willing to do. And if she wasn't going to be able to fight Clef, then she would make the illusion to Gage that she could, and when Clef finally came to kill her, she would take that bastard with her. It was more than he deserved.

She thought of this all in waves, rushes of emotion, anger, betrayal, hate, guilt. Yet, it was all cloaked by a cool thought process, a feeling of absolute stillness. Somewhere along the way, she'd become numb to the pain. Yes, it was only a matter of time. She'd gotten the apathy that Gage had promised her she would, but in gaining it, she'd lost an essential part of life – the will to live. For, without emotion, what was the point of living? Even dark emotions would suit her more, at least they would drive her forward to some action, instead of hanging in this delicate limbo she found herself in, waiting for someone to make a move, listening to orders like a cursed dog. Her fingers clenched, but there was no heat to the anger, only a placid cold that was just skin deep. There was literally nothing left to her anymore. After years of chasing just such a state, she had a moment to look back on it and realized that it wasn't a good exchange. She would much rather have the pain, the ache of loneliness, at least that would remind her she was still alive; she was still human, still connected to the world. If she was connected to the world then she was connected to the good things that came with the world, because you cannot take one without the other, the good and the bad, the pure and the sinister. She sighed heavily, well, she wasn't a part of this world anymore, and there was nothing she could do now, because there was no regret, there was nothing. And without regret, without guilt, she had no want to affect any change, no repentance.

_**You walk on by**_

_**Without feeling to your stroll**_

_**You walk alone**_

Clef entered the small cottage brazenly, well aware of what he was about to do, forcing himself to stay calm despite the panic swiftly rising in his soul. He searched the house, room by room, but there was no Umi, not even the magic that would show him she was shielding herself from sight. The residual magics that _were_ left in the house were fading, but even in their half-potent state they made him work hard to keep his stomach on the inside of his body. Blood, blood magic, everywhere, mostly hers, though sometimes it seemed he was willing to sacrifice his own for some particular incantation. Even though the house was clean, he could see the blood smears all over the place, strewn about the walls, the floor, the ceilings, a thick coating over the bed. She'd been tortured here – magically and physically. When he walked into the bedroom, and he found a knife sitting upon the oak table, it was a dagger he recognized; he'd had Presea make it for her for her seventeenth birthday. So this was the toy of Gage's choice then? He shuddered violently and destroyed the dagger with a hand. What a sick world he found himself transported to.

He turned his mind away from the things that must have gone on in the room and focused on finding Umi. She wasn't here, so where was she? Gritting his teeth, he turned and exited out the door he'd come from, hearing Gage's footsteps accompanied by the giggling of the girl he was escorting home. There wasn't much time. It was now or never, and he knew he had to find Umi.

He moved easily in the Forest, as if he was a creature of the wood; he'd spent most of his time here, or along the shore, where he and his angel had shared their first kiss, so it wasn't surprising that he moved with the ease of a woodsman. And it didn't take much time for him to track Umi's movements. She had moved in the direction of the house and veered off at the last minute, as he'd expected, and from there it became very easy to track her. Where he found her, stole his breath. There she was, in the very spot he'd avoided all these years, sitting on a hammock made of vines, staring out at the sea, no thoughts or emotion in her eyes.

"You think it's funny you'd find me here?" she didn't even turn to see him; she heard his sharp intake of breath, and knew that this place would only affect one other person.

Clef moved from the shadows and stood off to the side, "You said if we wanted to, we could hide here."

She laughed hollowly and turned to him, nodding, "At one time, I suppose I was naïve enough to think that, but…we couldn't hide forever, could we?"

"No one can hide forever," Clef admitted, remembering that horrible day so many years ago, the day that had destroyed his angel and set her on this course of self-mutilation.

"And love can't be a compromise," she added.

"No, love can't be a compromise," he chorused, letting his head hang. He knew he was wasting time, but she was so quiet, so submissive. He wasn't sure he could do it when she was behaving as she was. He thought it would be easy, if she were in a fit of rage, or begging him to take her life. This would be harder than he even imagined. "I never meant to make it one."

"But you did," she stated flatly. "You did."

"I…" he stopped himself. There was no argument; he had tried to do just that. "I'm sorry."

"I know."

_**Compromise**_

_**It's just another contradiction**_

"You don't have to be alone anymore, Umi-chan," he wanted to make one last attempt. "I'll stay with you; I'll go to the ends of the earth for you."

She looked up at him and offered a very timid smile, shaking her head, "It's too late for that Clef, and we both know it."

The good in her that he was holding struggled against the confines of his magic, wanting to run to her, to comfort her. He held it back, wanting to cherish what was left without seeing it tainted. The little bit of warmth that was still alive in him would never be able to overcome the mountain of dark that engulfed his love.

_**You're not alone**_

"Are you going to do it now?" she asked softly, and his eyes flew open in shock. He stared at her, like a struck stag, not breathing, not moving. How had she known? _Why_ had she not tried to stop him? Why did she just sit there like that, not looking at him, just staring at the sea?

"Umi-I…"

"It's over for me Clef, it's hopeless, and we both know it. If you do it now, it won't hurt as much, and I can take Gage with me before he causes more damage. You always loved Cephiro more, so don't try to pretend this isn't what you're here for."

_**There's a place**_

_**You've run away**_

_**That is in your heart**_

_**It is in your heart**_

Clef's heart seized up in anguish. This wasn't how it was supposed to work! She was supposed to scream at him and tell him about how he'd left her; she was supposed to fight him, throw magic at him, try to destroy him. She was supposed to do anything but sit here and wait. The waiting was more than he could bear. "I always loved you, Umi," he whispered fiercely and advanced, tossing everything he knew about protocol or value of Cephiro to the sea. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his embrace, _to hell with it, _"Listen to me Umi, I _love_ you, I always have. I was scared that if I confessed, it would destroy Cephiro, but now I see that the opposite is true. So here it is, I love you, more than anything I've ever loved in my life – more than Cephiro itself, but I can't allow this to go on – not for Cephiro, but more importantly, not for you. Right now there is a man about to do to another girl what he did to you, and I can't stop it without you. Our love, if it's strong enough, will transcend revenge, if it's not too late," he held her fast, tears slipping down his cheeks while she just blinked fiercely at him.

_Say something! _He urged silently, _I know you still love me. Please, say something._

_**In your heart**_

_**Your love again**_

Umi felt her apathy crumbling, felt rage seeping into her soul. He told her this _now_? And how could she be sure this wasn't only another ploy? She clung to the apathy despite the comforting, seductive heat that radiated from the anger. But just behind it, she saw something beautiful and warm – something hiding in Clef, a piece of her she'd left behind in him.

"I can't leave you like this Umi; I want to be with you, and if death is the only way to see that dream realized, then so be it. But I can't let this go on the way it is; you have to see that. I know there's good left in you; I know there is, because it's in here," he put a hand over his chest, and Umi's apathy shattered into a million tiny shards that stung her very vitality.

"It's over Clef, admit it," Umi met Gage's eyes with outward calm as Clef spun to glare icily at the handsome form he'd taken. The girl he'd seduced was standing behind them confusedly, her large brown eyes wide in shock.

"Get out of here," Clef ordered her, and she turned and scampered away, not even looking to see if her exit had caused any effect.

"You want to save the world, but you can't; you can't even save your own world," Gage's eyes stopped on Umi, and she barely strangled a gasp of surprise. So he'd known; he'd known Clef still loved her, and he knew the best way to hurt him was to hurt her. A few days ago that thought wouldn't have fazed her, but now, it seemed revolting.

_I still love him, even after all this, I still love him._ As soon as the thought was fully processed, Clef grinned at her, and she fell to her knees, sobbing, pain lancing through her tired body.

"No! Damn it!" Gage looked ready to spring at Clef, but instead, he lashed out at Umi, wrenching a knife from his boot and grabbing her in one fluid motion, but even through the shock, she was ready. Her trained muscles responded instantaneously, and she leapt up and around her attacker agilely.

"You lied to me," she growled, her magic boiling to the surface. "You told me he didn't love me; you made me believe I was nothing!"

"Umi, baby," Gage replaced the dagger and moved forward, slowly. For the first time, Umi saw something that closely resembled fear in his eyes. He realized the weapon he'd created, and the potential of it backfiring on him became a new possibility. "Don't you remember the first time?" he whispered softly into her neck, running his hands down her dissipating curves. "You think he can give you that? No amount of repentance will save you from what you've done. Look at yourself, not even your beloved Dragon wants you back, do you think Cephiro will? You're lost to them. If you run; I will find you; if you kill me, my evil will still be with you; if you stay, I'll take care of you."

"I doubt she wants _your_ kind of care, Gage," Clef warned, shuddering at the image that had plagued him. Her, broken, covered in a blood-stained sheet – ravaged, mentally and physically. He'd never escape that image, but he could devote his life to healing her.

"Umi, I know you probably can't see it now, but I can help make you whole again. All you have to do is come home with me, please," he held out a tantalizing hand, but Umi knew she couldn't take it. Gage's hold on her was too tight. He would always be with her. She only wanted to suffer in silence.

"Forget me, Clef," she whispered and moved to Gage's side as Clef's heart cracked and splintered. He shook his head in disbelief. The blue in her aura was breaking through; he even saw some of the love he'd imparted on her, so why?

"That's my dear," Gage stroked her hair like he'd stroke a favorite pet. "You see, Clef, you _did_ come too late. Separating her from me now would probably kill her. She hates what she needs from me, but she needs it all the same. It's like despising the air you breathe. No matter how much you may hate it, you keep breathing; it's instinctual at this point. And, as much as she may pretend she wants to be a martyr, she's desperately afraid of death."

Umi rose her terrified eyes to Clef's, and he saw her as a vulnerable young girl, forced into something unnatural and terrifying. She wasn't afraid of death; she was afraid of this life!

_**There's a place to be afraid**_

_**There's another chain to hold**_

_**And you don't know**_

Umi closed her eyes and fed what she'd recovered of her soul through the path Clef had created, allowing it to touch him. When it did, his eyes flew open in surprise. He'd thought that spell had been destroyed. She smiled faintly and showed him with her magic what she'd rebuilt between them. He guessed she'd made it to hurt him, or seduce him, or both, but at the moment, he didn't care. Part of her was back, and the thought gave him more hope than he'd had in weeks.

"You can run, but you can't hide, my love," Gage murmured so only Umi could hear, but she wasn't going to be intimidated. Instead, she squared her shoulders and faced him, "I'm not hiding anymore, Gage. You know I hate you; I always have. You destroyed every chance of life and love I've ever had. You turned my friends and my country on me. You killed my mother!" by the time she got to the last, she was in hysterics. Tears streamed down her cheeks, her body trembled in rage, "I hate you!"

"Good, good," Gage cooed gently and touched her aura which grew blacker by the minute. "I'm glad to hear it, but…what about Cleffy here? His _lying_ to you was truth enough, and a lie told in the name of good is still a lie. He watched you suffer, you know. Granted, he didn't know what was happening because the evils on earth still confuse him, but yes, he watched. And it took him that long to come to save you. Until it was too late. So caring, don't you agree?"

Umi bit her lip while Clef struggled to explain himself, but there was no explanation. His cowardice, his fear of rejection, human though it was, catalyzed this catastrophe. But when she looked at it logically, she realized his crimes against her were so marginal and dammed _unintentional_ that she could hardly breathe for thinking of her unyielding hate toward him. She wanted to apologize herself, to explain, but with Gage standing there, with Clef so vulnerable in this rare moment of passion, she was deathly afraid for him, so she remained silent.

_**You need it by your side**_

_**Just let him know**_

Clef saw her soul flicker back and forth and knew that if he didn't get her out she wasn't going to weather the emotion. He moved on instinct, and before Gage could react, had his angel bound in sleep. He gathered her in his arms and stared defiantly at his one-time student, "Don't ever come near her again, or the repercussions will be deadly."

"You don't frighten me, _Mage_," Gage shifted into a huge cat-like beast and leapt at Clef, but the Master Mage shielded the attack and disappeared, the Water Knight still securely in his arms.

"Clef! Where were y…oh my God," Fuu's jaw slipped, and her hands came up to her face. "Is she…you didn't…" the Magic Knight of Wind turned frantic, fiercely refusing to meet Clef's eyes. "How could you? She loved you, you loved _her_!"

"Fuu-Fuu…" Clef soothed, "she's all right, just sleeping," he explained, and Fuu's horror faded to admiration masked by shock. "Is her old room still…"

"Yes," she muttered before he could finish. "No one could bear…" Fuu's normally calm façade began to crack, and Clef put a hand on her shoulder and smiled weakly.

"It's going to be okay; everything is going to be okay now," but even as he said it, Umi began to whimper, and they exchanged looks. They were only at the base of the mountain, but deciding to climb was half the struggle, and they were in it for the long haul.

_**Your hell is when you dream**_

_**And I'm awake**_

"_Umi, my sweet, you've been naughty, but I knew the day would come when you would need to spread your wings, and here is the day. I get the point; you can come back to me now. You _have _to come back to me. You'll die without me," he stepped out of the darkness and touched the star on her arm which glowed with magic and began to bleed, but the pain was more than physical. Her whole mind writhed in agony, and she threw her head back and screamed. Every terrible thing she'd done flowed back to her; her whole being convulsing with the flashbacks. _

_His laugh was the only constant as the images ripped their way through her head. One solidified firmly, as she was forced to dwell on it – the heartbreak resounding in Clef's eyes when she refused him and took her place beside Gage – _her _spot. The thought was revolting._

"_Yes, lovely, you are mine, as I am yours. Even if he is fool enough to still love you, you can never be one with him because you belong to me," he flicked his fingers and knocked her back into the nightmares, his laugh haunting her all the way._

_**Look into your heart**_

_**Deep into your heart**_

Clef's eyes widened as Umi screamed and blood began to seep through the light blue silk sheets on her bed. He leapt up to shake her, but nothing physical or magical could bring her from her slumber. Resolving to wait, he grabbed one of her hands and put it to his forehead, tears slipping down her fingers. "How could I do this to you? Umi, I'm so sorry. I only thought – I love you, don't give up on me – please, I _need_ you, Cephiro needs you. Don't give into him, just fight this! I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere – not anymore."

_**In your heart**_

_**Your love again**_

"_Umi, my daughter, come to be me, thou hast strayed too far too long. Come out of the dark, put thineself in the light, embrace me once more." _

I know that voice, "_Selece?" Umi propelled herself forward, struggling to rid herself of the icy hands of the dark Gage had forced her to revel in. With all her magic and strength and Selece's warm glow to guide her, she tore through clinging darkness and broke free. But the pressure to resume her vigilance of self-loathing was great, so she was forced to fight it even while Selece spoke._

"_I know he has thee fast Water Knight, but thou must fight him. No one blames thee for what thou hast done, thou art only human, and a terrible occurrence hath befallen thee. Moving into temptation was only the natural course. However, if thou should fall again, a darker path might be traveled. He loves thee, my daughter, doubt it not, and the others do as well. Stay true to them, and to me, and thou will stay true to thyself. Let not fear encompass thine heart, for thou art a Magic Knight and when thou art ready to wield thine sword once more he wilt give it to thee, but not sooner. He loves thee, but thou wilt still have to share him."_

_Umi could feel herself slipping, so she nodded quickly, "Thank you, Selece," she mumbled and plunged back into memory._

_**There is none for**_

_**Love is not afraid**_

"How long could she possibly stay asleep for?" Hikaru demanded over the still silent Umi. "It's been two days! How much energy did you use?"

"It's not my magic that's got her now," Clef didn't move his eyes from her frozen form. The only thing that even showed she was alive was her whimpers and cries every few moments. Her chest barely moved, her eyes never fluttered, her whole body was ice.

"But he needs to sleep; he can't hold her forever. His magic isn't endless," Fuu advised, perched anxiously above the bed, wringing her hands.

"He's using hers; she's helpless to him, and mine won't last much longer," when he said it, Fuu realized his hands were trembling. She wanted to tell him to stop, but she couldn't make herself. She was sure if Clef didn't supplement Umi's magic with his then she'd die.

"Take care of yourself," was all she said, and he nodded, but it was just to appease her; they both knew he would die by her side if he had to. He was so focused on her that he didn't even hear when the remaining two Knights left him hours later or when Ascot and Presea brought him another meal that went untouched. All he could do was watch while she withered away.

"Please Umi, don't leave me, not yet, not when we've found one another again. I'm not ready, please, keep fighting," he mumbled. Over and over came versions of that same mantra with still no sign of change. She was slipping and once again he was left stranded, helpless and hopeless, with only his unyielding love to hold onto, "I love you, gods, please, be okay; I love you…"

_**In your heart**_

_**Your love again…**_


	8. The Prophet Said

So it's been about two years since I updated this story. Don't kill me, but this chapter was actually already written and somehow got lost in my computer for the past two years. I have no idea why I chose now to dig it up or continue the story, but I decided I'm going to finish it. Because I don't like things that are incomplete. However, in the two years that have passed apparently has put up a restriction against song fictions even though I strongly encourage you to buy Lacuna Coil's album which this story is premised on and don't pretend for these lyrics to be mine. With this all said, I'm a little nervous about posting this chapter with the lyrics that it was originally framed around, but it doesn't exactly make sense without them. So…I'm taking a risk, if someone feels that they have to report me then so be it, but please don't. I'm just a poor starving college student who is trying to finish a project. Besides that, I apologize for the delay (most of you original readers probably don't even remember this site exists) and for anyone that's new, I can promise future chapters will be much better since now that I'm a creative writing student my writing has vastly improved. Much love to all, Umi-chan

Chapter Eight – The Prophet Said

Clef could feel his magic weakening. He knew he wouldn't be able to last much longer, so he did the only thing he thought he could. He slept and tried to reach her in the prison Gage was holding her in – her own mind. There, he would try to bring her to see the truth, the light and hopefully break through the darkness. If not, then he would die beside her there, as long as they were together. Together in heaven, or together in hell, it didn't matter; all that mattered was her. Resolutely, he closed his eyes, wrapped the brightest lights of his magic around him and jumped into darkness.

**_Light of my sun_**

**_Light in this temple_**

_He searched for what seemed like hours until he came upon a particularly gruesome spot in the Astral fabric. And there she was, curled in a ball, sobbing without words or tears, lying in the darkness as images that Clef couldn't make out and didn't quite understand whizzed by them. Every once in awhile, one would solidify for a moment, and he would catch a glimpse of the evil that was haunting her, enough to know that they were her own memories. _

_"Umi," he choked, and she shot up, staring at him with wide, terrified eyes that softened his already fragile heart. She backed away like a scared animal, then, after realizing she had nowhere to go, confronted him._

_"You can't be here," she whispered, glancing around hesitantly. "He'll come back, and he'll kill you." _

_Clef shook his head, "He's sleeping, and his spell is weakening by the minute. Even though it doesn't take as much energy to use someone else's, it does take some. He's stealing energy from you Umi, and you're letting him. Why don't you come out of here and stop him the way you want to?" Clef felt like he was coaxing a particularly stubborn child, but he had to. At this point, her mind was already so shattered that she didn't know whether or not she was still human, let alone how old she was. If he didn't get her out of here quickly, she would be nothing. _

**_Light in my truth_**

_"You're lying!" Umi screamed, clenching her fists and closing her eyes. "They're still here – they're always here. He's always here," she touched her heart and opened her blazing blue eyes to smile sadly at him, all recognition wiped off her face. Clef tried not to gasp, tried to push the fear and sadness out of his eyes, one less thing to haunt her. She didn't remember him. What was happening to her? She laughed, a high pitched, fearful laugh, "They say," she gestured to the images that were swirling about them and shook her head, "that I loved someone once. And he looked a lot like you, but…he broke my heart, and then I broke his. Revenge is an offense punishable by…madness." _

**_Lies in the darkness_**

_"Don't be ridiculous Umi! If he loved you, he would forgive you. He _does_ forgive you! If there's no one to pursue the charges, then the crime can't be punished! It was only natural; you both still love one another!" Clef could feel her sanity slipping more by the minute. He wanted to grab her and wrench her out, but there wasn't enough magic left in him to do it, and he knew that she would just fall back into darkness. She had to destroy it here and now. There was no other way out. "Do you want to die here?"_

_She tossed her head and threw her hands up, "I don't see an exit door!"_

_"It's up here," Clef tapped his head lightly, and Umi cocked her head curiously. "You have to convince yourself that you weren't in the wrong; that what you did had a purpose, that he still loves you, and that you can get through this. I know you can Umi; I _do_ still love you!"_

_She licked her lips hesitantly and tried to focus for an instant on this strange man's face. After a second, the name popped into her head and she smiled, a clear, knowing smile, "Clef," she breathed, and he grinned and sighed, nodding all the while, but then the name vanished, and she looked perplexed again._

_"Fascinating," she muttered to herself, "purely fascinating. It was almost as if you were telling the truth, but…well, you couldn't be, could you? You're a man, and men _always_ lie."_

**_Teasing pureness_**

**_Of your lies_**

_"Umi, snap out of this! This isn't you! I know you! I know you better than you know you right now, and this isn't what you are!" Clef shouted, taking two steps forward, but when she began to tremble, he stopped and made himself take a few deep breaths. "That man in the images is _me_ Umi, and look, I'm here. I still love you. You didn't destroy me, don't beat yourself up for the past, but if you continue this way, you will destroy the future. I'm nothing without you, why don't you get that? Why are you doing this to us?" his voice was strained. He felt like he was repeating himself, and she just didn't get it. His mind told him to give up, but his heart wouldn't let him. _

_For a long time, she was quiet, but soon she looked back up to the images, cowering slightly and nodded to herself, "All right," she choked. "So maybe you are. What does that mean?"_

_Clef sighed heavily and nodded, "It means that it's time for you to come home with me. Take my hand," he held his hand out for her, but she simply stared at it, confused._

_"Home?"_

_"To Cephiro."_

**_Soreness of a _**

**_Delightful mission_**

_She jumped back and shook her head fiercely, never moving her eyes from his open hand, "Oh no, no, no," she protested, valiantly denying him the right to her haunted gray eyes. "Can't go back there."_

_"What? Why?" Clef demanded heatedly. "Why would you want to stay here, amidst this evil?"_

_Her eyes snapped up instantly, and he stared into them, not hers, but still clear, "Because _he's_ there."_

**_Burning up _**

**_Inside your mind_**

_"Ryuu, Ryuu my little darling, where are you?" the sick playfulness in his voice grated at Clef's soul as he took a stance to defend the Water Knight._

_"No, you mustn't," Umi begged, surging forward to grab his hand and plead with him. "He'll kill you. This is his playhouse; he won't want you here."_

_"I'm not leaving you," Clef whispered stubbornly, focused on her even though her eyes shifted anxiously in the darkness._

_"Oh Ryuu, you naughty girl; you do hide so well. It makes me want you more, the anticipation, you bad girl," the heat in his voice sent fire through Clef's body. Even in this dream, he thought only of ravaging her! There was no escape for her, not until he was dead. _

_"Quickly, quickly, he won't kill me, but he'll kill you," Umi urged, trying to push on him with magic and force. _

_"No, not unless you come back with me. He won't hurt you in the waking world. I'll protect you there."_

_Umi turned and smiled briefly at him, "You must be that man, that man that I love and who loved me once. You are very kind; perhaps I'll visit you in the waking world, when all here is asleep. But only if you leave now, you _must_ leave now; I can't hide us from him forever." _

_Clef took a deep breath and nodded, "Do you promise to come see me?"_

_She turned her head, examining him and smiled, "I promise."_

_He couldn't help but beam at her and squeeze her hand reassuringly. It was all the affection he allowed himself though, and even that had her spinning and struggling to get away. _Slowly,_ he ordered himself, though he ached to take her in his arms and prove to her that love could be gentle. Instead, he dropped her hand, offered her the most gentle smile he could muster, which calmed her trembling and let himself fade into the real world, where sleep awaited him._

_The moment Clef was gone, Umi let the barrier of memory she had used against her captor fade, and Gage emerged from the darkness. "Oh, what a clever trick my sweet, using my own magic against me, but what were you trying to hide?" he advanced, and she jumped backward, tripping on herself and falling backward in the nothingness. It was so dark in this world that she was sure she would simply fall for ages and never land, but she didn't. The dark caught and held her fast, and Gage gripped her jaw and dragged her up against him, crushing her against his chest. "Because I do hope it wasn't that Master Mage. Ryuu, darling, it's useless. He can never have you, because you're _mine_."_

**_You belong_**

**_To my possessions_**

_"N-n-no," Umi whispered frantically. "I wasn't hiding anyone, j-just playing a-a-a g-game."_

_Gage's eyes lifted and he grinned maniacally, "A game? Oh but Ryuu, you know how much I love games." He held her hard and smiled cruelly into her eyes, "You think you can hide him from me, but you can't. You betray him with only your thoughts; he thrives in them and where you are, I am. Don't you see?" his fingers dug painfully into her flesh while she squirmed, but his next words stopped the struggle, "Your feelings for him reveal everything to me. I'm you, you're me, and every time you think of him you show him to me. You betray him with your very breath," he let her go, and she fell backward in the strange haze of the dream and kept falling, all she could think of were his words. _Where you are, I am…

You betray him with your every breath…

_Clef!_

Every time you think of him you show him to me.

_No!_

**_Can't you see that_**

**_I'm here inside you?_**

_And through the haze and desolation she heard him, felt his light and had to run from it, to spare him._

I'm sorry, so sorry…_she used her tears as fuel to feed aching muscles as she propelled herself forward, refusing the warmth of the solace he offered._

Stop!_ She screamed at him through the darkness, but his words never ceased, never even faltered. He was always there, that beautiful, frightening light, her sin and her salvation, but she couldn't rewrite history or travel back in time. It had to be this way; it was necessary. _

**_Light – Massive pain_**

**_Glide – Passive tension_**

_"I won't let you do this to yourself, Umi, not anymore," Clef stood before her, a fire in the dark, blocking her path, all done up in white robes. He was the Greek image of perfection, stern but loving, serious yet still playful, beautiful and bold, tender and wise, protection and defense, yet ever so vulnerable. Her mind was numb, all she could think to do was run to him, and when she found his arms open she could only melt into his embrace, savoring the moment, losing herself in the feel of him._

I can't,_ she silenced that part of her mind and let love run wild for the first time in years._

_"I love you," he whispered into her hair, and she held him tighter still, trembling against his strong arms. For that moment, she was at peace._

**_Light – show me to how to_**

**_Slide in this pleasure_**

_He tilted her head up so the two locked eyes, the wounded eagle nursing the fallen sparrow. With a fearlessness known to his kind, he plunged into unknown, murky depths._

_"I love you too," she whispered, and he smiled and took her back into his arms. It wouldn't be long now before they were soaring through the skies, side by side once more._

**_Teasing pureness_**

**_Of your eyes_**

_"Oh, well, isn't this a pleasant scene?" Gage laughed as his image solidified in the darkness. _

_Umi sprang away, "Now look here Gage, just let me go. I'll leave you be if you'll let me be."_

_"My dearest Water Knight, how could you say such things? You know how much you mean to me; how could I ever just let you go? And to see you put into arms such as his? He doesn't need you the way I do. All he wants is your power, why can you not see that?" the slightest whine in his voice made Umi gnash her teeth._

_"You don't know what it means to need, except for your own self-love. You don't want or need Umi for her, you need her to get to me," Clef moved forward, pushing Umi behind him, but she flinched away from his touch, and Gage laughed. He knew he had her; they were too wrapped together._

_"Why must you always make this about you?" Gage demanded, holding his hands out to Umi, using her own magic to draw her in, "This is about Umi, and how you're destroying her. Just let her lead her life, separate from you; it's what she needs."_

_"What she needs is to see you die. The only one guilty of ravaging her is you, and you know it. I was there Gage; don't think I'll forget it easily. I will hunt you to the ends of the earth if I have to," Clef took two steps forward, but Gage only laughed and pointed to Umi, who was sitting in the mist, her arms wrapped around her knees, rocking back and forth, the beautiful picture of insanity._

_"If you're so sure I'm the one she hates, why don't you ask her yourself? If she loves you so much, ask her to come out of this hell with you, right now; I'll even let up on my magic."_

_Clef's eyes shifted to Umi, and he tried not to let his doubt consume him, but she was so caught up in Gage's magic he couldn't be sure._

_"What? Are you afraid? What love can there be without trust? And you don't even trust her to save herself? Or is it that you don't think her going with you is best for her?" he questioned viciously, advancing on Clef who found himself backing up until he tripped over Umi, and she looked up at him as he trembled down, her eyes wide and betrayed._

_"You don't trust me?" she whispered, tears filling her eyes, and Clef sat there, speechless. Oh, how Gage had played them! How long would it take to undo what had been done?_

_Umi stood up in one elegant movement as Clef floundered for words. Slowly, she turned to Gage, looked into his hungry eyes and pulled all her strength into facing him, "Do you love me?" her voice was abrasive, cold; it sent shivers up Clef's spine. He was stunned, couldn't breath as he waited for his response. _

_Gage smiled and his pointed teeth glinted meanly. Anticipation warred in Clef's soul as Gage opened his mouth to speak, "No," he answered flatly, and Clef sighed and smiled, standing to open his hands to Umi who looked at him sadly and shook her head, moving toward Gage who spread his arms wide for her. _

**_Crawling into empty spaces_**

_"What?" Clef whispered incredulously, bitter hate and agony filling his every pore and swallowing him whole. "He just said he doesn't love you, how could you run to him?"_

_"Because," Umi's eyes darkened, her bottom lip quivered, and she met his eyes with a burning rage, "at least he won't lie to me."_

**_You could lie and lie again_**

_Clef's heart simply stopped, ceased to be. He was no longer a man, only a hollow shell of once humanity. _

_"Oh, Umi, my love, how I've missed you; our bed hasn't been cold, mind you, but it's difficult to find women who will fight back. Your spirit is somewhat unique, and you know I hate to be without what I want," he ran her hair through his fingers, raking his sub-human claws through the river of silk Clef had coveted so dearly. He brought that human cloth to his face and took a deep breath of the contaminated water, "Ah, how I love the smell of betrayal. Never saw it coming, did you master? Never saw your impatient shape-shifter student becoming such a powerful tool to your demise. You stole my education, my fame, my power, my glory, so I stole your life, in essence, and now I have but to kill you and I can begin to take back all that was mine."_

_"You can have it," Clef whispered softly, and both Umi and Gage stared in open amazement as he sank to his knees. "You can have it all, Gage, my staff, my magic, my power, the Palace, just let Umi go," his voice was that of a broken man, a soldier who could fight no further but didn't know anything beside war, so he had to keep trudging along, weary, afraid, lost. "All I want is you, Umi, I love you."_

_Gage's face twisted in rage. He wanted to stomp out everything from Clef's heart – everything, "No, she's mine, now and forever."_

**_You belong to my possession_**

_Umi smiled sadly and took a few steps toward Clef, "Listen," she whispered, so only he could hear while Gage watched on suspiciously. "I'm not lost to you, but he'll hunt us until we die. Protect them, Clef, protect our home, and you'll protect our memories."_

_"Why won't you just let me love you?" he murmured, and she smiled a bitter smile._

_"Because you'd never let me."_

**_Can't you see that_**

**_I'm here inside you?_**

_"No, I won't let you do it. I won't let you leave with him," he tired to grab for her, but his magic was failing him; he saw her fading away, smiling that same bitter smile._

_"Don't come and set me free, but never forget us," she whispered, and Gage scowled and yanked a scream from her with a vicious tug on her hair. He struggled with all his shattered soul to get to her, all to no avail. Yet, in that struggle was hope, in those futile attempts Umi saw salvation, because he would never let her live like this._

**_This is my harmony_**

**_I'm in your heart again_**

Clef sat there, shaking from loss of energy, staring at her still silent body, racked with guilt. Guilt because he wasn't strong enough, guilt because he'd abandoned her again, guilt because he'd lied, he'd hid in cowardice, but mainly because he couldn't save her, and he didn't deserve her. Yet, there was solace in his guilt; it was a real, raw, understandable emotion. He could anchor it, use it as fuel, hold to it as proof to his unworthiness. Guilt was rational, logical, much more so than the jealousy that slipped down his veins. There was no one else to blame except himself; he'd sent Gage away, he's sent Umi away and then he'd let them fall. A little more consciousness on his part could have saved lives, hundreds of lives, innocents, the Magic Knight of Water, even Gage. They were all misguided, lost sheep, and he the worst shepherd. 

**_This is the place to live_**

**_Where I'm alone again_**

Umi's eyes fluttered open when a warm crystalline drop of heaven touched her cheek, and she was falling. Falling through desolation and devastation, falling in love.

**_This is my harmony – I'm here_**

"Umi," Clef choked, and she nodded just as Gage materialized beside the bed. "But how?" But Clef's pale words never found a voice; he saw the chord that connected the two. Umi had allowed Gage to enter, even here, her haven, "Please," he begged, but Umi shook her head and silenced him.

"I don't deserve you," she muttered almost to herself, and he shook his head in disbelief.

"One day, my love, you will understand how much worth you truly have and then we will be together."

**_I lay again – This is the prayer to give_**

Umi gazed at him, stricken with pain, broken so profoundly that even emotion escaped her. It was the deepest silence in Cephiro's history, even the seas were quiet until Gage reached across her, grabbed her waist, whispered a word and stole away Clef's princess for the second time.

**_I'm all alone again…_**


	9. Unspoken

Chapter Nine – Unspoken

Clef stared absently out the blue paned glass as rivers of water fell from the sky, hitting the ground in large drops that seemed to tear the earth from its foundations. She was gone. His angel, his love, his world. Gone. Forever.

"Guru, won't you come down?" Presea inquired timidly from the door, only to gasp when she saw Umi's empty bed. "Umi! Where…" but when Clef turned to her with hollow eyes no other words had to be spoken. "What shall we do? I'll get the Magic Knights, and…" he raised a hand, and she clamped her jaw shut.

"Let her go, she can't be saved."

"What are you saying, of course she can!" Presea moved into the room, desperately wanting to shake the stupidity out of the much larger man, but those eyes held her back. She'd never seen anything so tortured; it was as if he would never again find joy in the world.

"It's over Presea, there's nothing I can do to save her now. It's begun, this collision course to murder; it's over," he fell from his chair, his head in his hands, raking at his face, trying to eliminate the pain while he howled to the world, unable to feel anything except his own agony.

**_And it doesn't matter_**

**_How you feel now, anything at all_**

Hours later, when the empty comfort of resignation had found him, Clef assembled the Palace inhabitants and stood before them, a man at the end of his chain, determined to complete one last mission before he let insanity take him.

"Clef, what's wrong?" Hikaru demanded, recognizing the hunger in Clef's eyes. She'd seen it in her own – it was the need to end the pain.

"Umi was taken back by Gage, but this time it was by her own volition," he paused for the murmurs and enraged whispers before he continued. "So I've asked you here because there is one task I must put before you as your Master Mage before I hand over my staff."

"Hand over your staff?" Ferio roared, springing from his seat.

"What task?" Fuu inquired with narrowed eyes, keying into what her Prince had missed.

"My staff will be put in capable hands," he glanced at Ascot, who jumped to refuse but stopped when the seriousness of Staff-Giving overcame him. This was not a position one could simply _retire_ from.

"Clef, you can't take your life," Ascot whispered, and the others' snapped from their discussions to listen in, drawn by Ascot's quiet statement. They'd never lived through a Staff-Giving, so they didn't know what it entailed.

"There's no other way," Clef sighed, exasperated.  "I've broken too many codes, the Will cannot leave me in my position, and this way at least I know it goes to a suited person."

"I will not take it!" Ascot slammed his fist on the table as he rose, fighting his docile personality to save his master, the first master who had ever been kind to him. He owed him at least this.

"Ascot, thank you," Clef smiled at his student, only more convinced that he was ready. He was strong yet modest, gentle yet decisive and above all, he loved his country. "Do you think I want to go on like this? My bitterness toward Cephiro grows with every passing day, my loyalty wanes. I don't want to hurt this beautiful world, see it suffer more than it already has at my hands. It is my time, and whether or not you take the staff, I _will_ take my life. So please, for the love of your country, do me this great service."

**_Seems to be your only way, so vicious_**

Ascot silenced and nodded, "So what must we do?"

Clef closed his eyes, took a deep breath to distance himself, and turned to the Magic Knights, "We're going to kill the Magic Knight of Water."

**_Heavenly Apart_**

Umi fingered the note Clef had written her before Beltane for the hundredth time. It was folded and unfolded so many times it was almost breaking at the creases. The ink had run from tears and coated the elegant paper in a light dusting of blue. The words were barely legible, but it didn't matter much; they were imprinted in her heart.

**_When your envy's on a piece of paper_**

"I know you're here for all the wrong reasons," Gage's voice was just an echo of her own thoughts. He was watching from the doorway, she'd felt him there for a log time, but she had no fears. She'd committed the worst of her sins already, so when she turned to him with a blank smile and received a sharp smack in return, she didn't even flinch.

**_Let me sweetly smile_**

"Why won't you respond?" he shouted, but she only blinked at him. "What will you do when he comes to kill you?"

"Fight," she answered simply, and he smiled and nodded.

_Just like a puppy; he'll eat anything I feed him_, she thought maliciously, grinning slightly. _When he comes, I'll wait, and he'll kill me and torture Gage. _That was her one comfort, twisted as it was – that he would suffer at the hands of her love.

**_You're devouring all the crumbs_**

"We're not," Fuu whispered, emotion finally latching onto her and holding fast.

"We won't," Hikaru chorused.

"If you won't, then I will," Clef informed them, much calmer than he felt. "Look at your country, this world you were destined to protect. Look at the hollowed faces; they need you now, more than ever. Another harvest lost will kill hundreds. Look at Umi," he closed his eyes and brought up those images that would follow him forever, her broken and abused frame, lying vulnerable next to Gage, the man who'd sold, beaten and bound her, bathing in a tub full of her blood, her maddening rocking, the dark dream Gage had created for her. "She's not happy; she can hardly survive the way she is and from this point there's no going back. It's what Cephiro needs, and it's what _she_ wants," he didn't think about what he wanted; it was an impossibility. To survive this, he would have to have his best defenses, would have to be cool, calculated, precise. Otherwise, he couldn't make it through and leaving Gage to continue his plague on Cephiro was simply not an option. "You have to understand, Fuu?" he found the eyes of the Wind Knight, expecting to find help, but there was nothing. She was all pain and betrayal.

"It's not what she wants," Fuu whispered, standing, her eyes quivering with tears, her quiet voice oddly deafening, "And I won't stand here and listen to this, stop lying to yourself Clef; it's not healthy," and with that, she whirled around and fled the room, not even stopping when she knocked her chair to the ground.

**_I'm leaving, caught up in your lies_**

When Fuu had stormed out and Hikaru went chasing after her, he was left with stunned faces.

"Has it come to this?" Caldina inquired in a squeak, seeking shelter in Lafarga's arms.

"I fear it has," Lantis' voice was a low rumble that raked at Clef's heart. He nodded slightly; it was understood, and as the Master Mage circled the table with his eyes, he found Ferio, Lafarga, Presea and Lantis were with him, though Ascot would not meet his eyes. _I hope he never has to learn,_ Clef thought to himself, solidifying the idea that this was his path, not Ascot's. He wanted to be with her at the end, and this was no way to start off a new age, with the young Master Mage slaying a Magic Knight. By now, he threw the stray questions away; he was beyond asking why or how. Now was the time for facts. He and Umi were enemies, and he would have to treat her like he would an enemy – without mercy.

**_You're on any other side_**

Umi lay next to Gage, eyes wide open, staring out the window into the Forest of Silence. She thought of days long past, when she could be in Clef's arms on their hammock next to the ocean, tucked away from humanity, lost in themselves. Gage had been gentle with her, as gentle as he could be. Tonight, there were only bruises, no cuts. Tonight, she should have slept like a newborn, free of the inflammation and pain that normally ravaged her sleep. Yet, there she lay, wide awake, thinking of times that would never be again. It was like a beautiful dream, one of the ones that make you bitter when you awake and find they weren't real.

Gage shifted so his hands fell away from her, and she took it as a sign and slipped of the bed, pulling on a silk robe and walking barefoot into the crisp night. The grass of the Forest was moist under her feet, but she didn't mind; it was a last physical pleasure.

She wandered to the ocean and curled up in their hammock, trying not to remember the old days but hanging onto them with everything she had. She didn't want to let go, but she knew she had to, because death would come swiftly now, and she could finally be at peace with this world she treasured so dearly.

**_Clawing up my eyes_**

_"Umi, I want you to promise me something," Clef looked so solemn in this memory, and they were both younger, more carefree. There were no lines on his face, no bags under her eyes, no tears, just wrinkles of concern and gentle touches. _

_Umi__ turned to her secret lover and touched his face ever so gently, a butterfly's embrace with her fingertips, "What?__ Why do you look so forlorn?"_

_"I was only thinking, that if ever there comes a time when I hurt you, know that it will hurt me just as greatly," it was his way of saying he loved her, only, she hadn't seen it until that instant. That had been near the end, and his prophecy rang purely through the cavities of her mind. In the memory, she wanted to stop herself, but all she could do was watch while she laughed it off and showered him with teasing kissing until the frown faded away. That's how it'd always been with them, hide the issues, don't talk about them, and they disappear. Only, they never do.  _

"God," she murmured softly and slipped her willowy arms around an emaciated frame. If she closed her eyes tightly she could pretend it was Clef, could feel his smile beating down on her, taste the sweet smell of his hair, feel the soft fabric of his robes as she buried her head in the folds of his clothing. With that picture firmly ensconced in her head, she found a sort of inner freedom, and she was finally ready.

**_I'm feeling your arms around me_**

"Come on Umi," the voice she heard next was Gage's, and for once, it wasn't angry, simply tired. "You've been out here all night, and if you die, you're useless to me."

She nodded submissively and rose, her head down, as if a prisoner taking the long march. It was nearing the end again, and they all knew it. The only thing that remained to be seen was whether or not there could be redemption.

**_On the other side_**

Clef stood resolutely, "Now is the time; I will not ask the Knights to join me. I realize that this cannot be their task. It was set to me the day I forsook her."

"You didn't forsake her," Ferio clasped his shoulder. "You just weren't meant to be," his words were intended to be encouraging, but they were simply disheartening.

"Not in this life my friend," Clef smiled weakly. "Tell Ascot to be prepared to take my staff when I return."

**_It's time to go_**

Clef moved slowly to the house where he felt her presence, thinking of all the times they'd spent together.

_She was laughing, her tinkling bell-like voice could only be reflected in the language of love. It sounded like something French called _les petits grelots_ – the sound of stars. She'd been running from him, teasing him by kicking up sand, alluding him, testing his patience, but anticipation had always been alluring for him._

_"Come on, love, I feel like I miss you already," he only half jested, because as much as he wanted her in his arms every second of every day, he knew it was an impossibility. Yet, every time she moved from him he yearned for her, and she taunted him for it, and he loved her all the more. _

_"Oh, you ruin my fun," she whispered huskily from behind him, and he realized he'd been letting his thoughts wander again._

_A wicked smile curved onto his face as he spun and grabbed her arms, "Careful, that's a sensitive spot," he murmured, and she laughed and kissed his ear._

_"Oh, I know," her voice had a smoldering thickness to it that made his stomach churn and caused a muted growl to spring from his throat._

_"So you do," and it was all they said before he lost himself in her embrace._

**_I'm hearing your voice_**

**_Without words_**

He snapped back to life when he found he was standing in the very spot he'd never dreamt about. Every inch of his writhing flesh wanted to curl up and die, to dissipate into nothingness, from here on out there was only betrayal.

His mind and heart raged in a vicious tug-of-war until he pushed that away too and opened the door, half unfeeling, half terrified.

**_On the other side_**

The sun was just peeking over the horizon when Umi pulled herself out of the wreckage of sheets and feathers that cascaded beneath her. Nimbly, she brought a silk blue robe around her tiny body and was busying herself with the knot when she entered the living room and found Clef standing in her doorway.

She felt him even before she saw him, and her hands stopped while her eyes flicked upward – all motion ceased. They were two predators who had stumbled upon the same meal, silently examining and sizing up the other. He saw her extraordinary beauty in everyday, graceful movements while she admired his profound and silent melancholy. They were only two in a world of utter chaos.

For a solid minute they were frozen in time, neither daring to move, to breathe, Clef's hand still dangerously poised on the doorknob, Umi's robe tassels dangling uselessly to her side. They were both revolted, but neither of them would break out into a triumphant, glorious violence. No passion flared, no tempers soared, no violence ensued, nothing but a shattering, desolate silence ensnared the whole of the room.

            "Get out," Clef whispered softly, frantically.

"What?" Umi's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but he just shook his head, seemingly surprised himself.

"I'm here for Gage, not you," he answered, settling into realization.

She gave a weak smile and shook her head, "You know that if he dies, so do I."

Clef's eyes twisted in anger, fear and guilt, "You can't be sure! I might still save you, break his hold on you, then…"

"Then what?" she snapped, "Then we can be together again? This broken soul that I am, this nothing, this betrayer of all that is good in the world?" her voice grew calmer as she spoke, her aura darkening with every word. "There is no exit for me Clef, there is nothing left except for memories, and those are merely shadows of something that never was meant to be."

**_But it doesn't matter_**

**_How I feel now, anything at all_**

"You told me you weren't lost to me!" Clef shouted in vain, not caring that Gage heard the argument and stepped out of the bedroom, dressed in only a sheet.

"I lied!" Umi screamed back, aware of Gage's presence, not wanting to blow her cover that would kill Clef in the end. "Don't you see what I am? I am the enemy!"

**_Since I've left you with the wrong _**

**_Impression, while I'm still the same_**

Clef stepped back in horror, and Gage laughed and shook sleep away from his face; he was going to enjoy this.

"Oh Umi, my sweet, it seems that Cleffy here is surprised at your admonition, after all, _he's_ supposed to be the liar. Guess he never really imagined it could go both ways," Gage taunted, but Clef blocked him out. He didn't care about the shape shifter; he just wanted to get to Umi.

"Please," Clef whispered softly. "I'll fix what you've become; Fuu, Hikaru, they'll fix it, accept Selece again, and I'll give you back your sword. You can right the wrongs that you've done. The people still love you; they trust you. You're not only destroying yourself, you're destroying Cephiro! Think of the innocents! God Umi, stop being this selfish creature! I thought that about you once and was wrong, prove me wrong again!"

Umi lowered her head so her ratty, tangled hair cloaked her eyes, "I can't," she whispered in a shattered sob that produced no tears. "I can't, I am what I am, and I can't go back on that."

**_When I turn around and look_**

**_At my life, shadows in disguise_**

**_But I'm working on_**

**_An interruption of hypocrisy_**

"You're not like this!" Clef protested, still unable to raise his staff against the Magic Knight. "You're not like this at all. I know you! I know the woman I loved!"

"She's dead!" Umi threw her eyes up, and Clef's heart shattered into a million pieces when he looked into deep, inky black orbs. "It's over."

Gage released a high pitched, ear-shattering laugh that resembled a howl more than any human noise. And Clef just stood there, frozen, watching the enemy.

**_You're on any other side_**

_You can't_, a voice inside him whispered, and he nodded to the voice. Not yet, he couldn't, he wasn't yet strong enough, "Goodbye, my love," he murmured and turned to disappear.

"Leave without a fight Clef?" Gage snarled, clearly upset by the lack of response in the Master Mage. "Where are you going? Are you afraid?"

Clef turned and smiled weakly at Umi, "Terrified," he answered softly, and she shook her head at him, still a piece of the angel he'd loved, but only a piece now, and in Cephiro, majority ruled.

Without another word or another thought, he slipped out of the house, plagued by eyes that he didn't remember and a soul that wasn't hers. _It used to be different_, he thought to himself. _She used to care._

**_Clawing up my eyes_**

**_I'm feeling your arms around me_**

**_On the other side_**

"Now is the time for offensive," Gage whipped around to Umi. "He's broken, thanks to you my dear, now is the time for us to attack."

Umi nodded submissively, knowing she had no intention to attack, but supposing an open attack would make it easier for Clef to justify what he would have to do. He could kill her in self-defense, not in cold blood. For the loving Master Mage of Cephiro, it would be easier that way; he probably even felt guilty in taking Gage's life, the life of a former student. _Yes_, she contemplated. _It will be easier that way, as long as Fuu and Hikaru stay out of it._ "Not them," she told Gage firmly, and he smiled a vicious smile and agreed.

"I only want Clef."

Umi nodded her agreement, and it was set, so she followed him quietly into the small kitchen while he began to devise the plan, only half listening. She didn't care, what he told her to do she wouldn't, but she gave the façade of attentiveness. Nothing mattered. _Things used to be different_, she thought, _I used to care. _

**_It's time to go_**

**_I'm hearing your voice without words_**

**_On the other side_**

"Why?" Clef shouted to the heavens, and he felt Umi's question rendered in his own heart. "What did I do wrong? What did I do to deserve this?"

**_Any other side…_**


End file.
